The Rise Of A Legend
by Yondaime-koi
Summary: What if Naruto was trained by someone else before the Academy? What if he met Yugito before Sakura? Minato and Kushina are still alive, though not in the way you might think. Find out by reading this story. Female Kyuubi Mokuton Naruto NarutoxYugito
1. Chapter 1

The Rise Of A Legend

Disclaimer: I'm only saying this once. I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would be rich.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Naruto ran. As far as he could, for the villagers were once again chasing him, with their garden rakes, brooms and kitchen knives.

Yep, you heard right. Kitchen knives.

"Crap, crap, crap," he muttered. "Get back here you demon!" One of the villagers shouted. Reaching a dead end, he shouted, "Stay away from me! What did I do to you people?"

"What did you do? What did you do?! Killed our families, that's what, demon!" a villager replied, and rushed forward with his baton towards the six-year old.

The last sight before he blacked out was a pile of leafs appearing from seemingly no where.

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

The disturbing sound could be heard as he awoke in a giant sewer. "Where am I? Oh great I was dumped into a sewer, stupid villagers…" Naruto grumbled. Then he saw a light ahead, and wondered if that was the exit to this creepy place. After walking for a while he reached the end. In the end of the tunnel, there was a giant cage-like contraption. Right in the centre between the two doors, there was a piece of paper with the kanji for "Seal" on it.

"Uzumaki Naruto... I have waited far too long for you," a voice appeared, apparently from inside the cage. "Who are you?" Naruto asked aloud to the cage. A low laughing sound ensued. A red eye suddenly opened in the darkness of the cage, and Naruto quickly scrambled back as a massive amount of power flooded him. The cage lit up with light, and inside, a giant fox with gleaming teeth could be seen staring at him.

"I'm the Kyuubi no Yoko..." then the fox glowed with a red light, and transfigured, diminishing in size rapidly until the light ebbed away before Naruto could react. Naruto, who raised his hand to block the light, removed it after and laid his eyes on a beautiful woman, who donned a simple orange shirt with blue shorts to complement it. "... or you can call me Kurama," spoke the woman, now in a softer and noticeably female voice.

"The Kyuubi, huh?" Naruto said, surprisingly calm upon seeing the creature that could wipe him out within the bat of an eyelash. "So why am I here, Kurama-chan?"

"Simply, I'm here to offer a deal. Do you want powers to stop the ignorant fools that you call villagers from bullying and hurting you?" He nodded his head slowly, "What's the catch?"

"I get access to your senses, meaning that I can see what you see, hear what you hear, etc., and I can talk to you Naruto-kun. In return I shall train you-"

"It's a deal!" Naruto interrupted contentedly, after all, he was lonely.

"Naruto-kun, we've seen that you have grown much. It's time to pass on a few family jutsus, eh, Kushina-chan?" A figure not noticed by Naruto, said startling him, he stepped out into the light, revealing a blonde man with spiky hair, and a long, flowing cloak which was white with red trimmings at the bottom. Additionally, he wore a standard Konoha flak jacket, with a blue Uzumaki jumpsuit.

Accompanying him, was a redhead, with waist-length hair and a green blouse, wearing a beige top over it.

The moment he saw the man's face, he recoiled in awe, because he saw that face frequently, ranging from the Hokage Monument to history textbooks. "The Yondaime Hokage," he said reverently.

Author's Notes:

Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out what happens next. Chapters will be updated regularly, and get longer.

Until tomorrow,

Ja Ne


	2. Chapter 2

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 2: The Meeting

Previously:

The moment he saw the man's face, he recoiled in awe, because he saw that face frequently, ranging from the Hokage Monument to history textbooks. "The Yondaime Hokage," he said reverently.

"I see you're confused, Naruto-kun. I am Uzumaki Kushina, your mother, and Minato-kun here, the Yondaime Hokage, is your father," the now identified Kushina explained to the dumbfounded Naruto.

"Tou-san... kaa-san... I actually have parents!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Namikaze... you sure are a bold one..." Kurama sighed.

"Naruto-kun you'll have to go now. When you want to talk, just think of my name and I'll respond," Kurama said, then the world started spinning.

He opened his eyes to a shinobi with purple hair removing her katana and slashing it horizontally across the villager with the baton, his lifeless body crumpling to the floor.

"It's a shinobi! Run!" All the villagers scattered quickly, not wanting to suffer the same fate as him.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" the ANBU operative turned towards Naruto, her cat mask on. "Arigato, Neko-san!" He gave her a big smile, and then turned to leave for home.

A Leaf Shunshin later and Uzuki Yugao appeared in the Hokage's office, head bowed low. "Hokage-sama, report on Uzumaki Naruto. Yet another villager has broken your law and I dispatched of him quickly, though not before Naruto was knocked out."

The Sandaime sighed. "May I make a suggestion, Hokage-sama?" Yugao asked while taking off her cat mask, revealing her brown eyes, red lipstick and purple fringe. "Speak freely," Hiruzen said.

"I suggest... ANBU training for Naruto-kun." The Hokage hummed in thought, "Alright, we can't be there for him all the time anyway. Send me Naruto-kun."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Putting on her mask, she did a Shunshin, leaving for where she knew Naruto would be.

After hearing knocks on the door, Naruto answered it, though he was surprised to see an ANBU, the very one who saved him just now.

"Naruto-kun, the Hokage requires your presence in his office, now."

Naruto nodded, then swung onto the rooftop after locking his door, which was covered in vandalism. Jumping across the rooftops, he wondered, "What could Jiji want?"

After climbing the stairs, the secretary let him in. "Ne, Jiji, what did you want?" the six-year old asked. "Would you like ANBU training?" the Hokage replied, getting straight to the point. "No... I would prefer training myself," Naruto decided.

"Ok, but you have to promise me not to over-exert yourself," the Hokage said. "Yes, Hokage-jiji," Naruto replied, "It's a promise! And I never back down on my word... that is my ninja way."

Hiruzen thought, "Spoken like a true Uzumaki." "You're dismissed," he said.

Naruto left for home, thinking, "Ne, Kurama-chan, which areas should I train in?"

"Hi Naruto-kun, it's your dad here, I suggest basic fuinjutsu, shurikenjutsu and personal taijutsu. As for ninjutsu, you need to learn how to manifest chakra first and then find out your elemental natures," the voice of Minato appeared.

When he opened the front door, Naruto was shocked, to say the least.

Simply because sitting on his sofa, was a cloaked man with red hair. The creepiest part - his eyes. His eyes had a ripple-like pattern which spread over the eyeballs, with light purple sclerae and irises.

"Naruto-kun, I've been waiting for your return," the man spoke. "W-Who are you?" Naruto stuttered.

"There's no need to be afraid, I'm a friend. My name is Uzumaki Nagato."

Author's Notes:

What is Nagato here for? Find out next chapter. Credits to Narutopedia for the description of the Rinnegan.

Until tomorrow,

Ja Ne


	3. Chapter 3

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 3: Training

Previously:  
"There's no need to be afraid, I'm a friend. My name is Uzumaki Nagato."

"Uzumaki? You mean my clan? Sweet!" Naruto relaxed after hearing Nagato's declaration of being a friend and fellow clansman.

Nagato retrieved a piece of paper from his cloak, and said, "This is no ordinary piece of paper. This is Chakra Paper, a product of trees fed with chakra since they were saplings. When you push your chakra into this paper, the results will determine your element. If your element is fire, it will burn, if it's wind, it will be split into pieces, if it's lightning, it will wrinkle, if it's earth, it will turn to dirt and crumble, and if it's water, it will become wet. Let me show you," Nagato explained, before focusing his chakra into the paper.

The paper split into four pieces with a sickening sound, and the first one ignited into flames before turning into ash. The second one wrinkled, the third one crumbled away while the last one turned so wet that the piece fell apart.

"As demonstrated, I have all five elements, due to my Rinnegan," he said, pointing to his eyes, "Your turn."

Nagato passed a piece to him, which he took hold of and then focused his chakra into. He envisioned his physical energy and spiritual energy moulding into the all-important chakra. Then, he channeled it into the Chakra Paper, which tore into two, the first piece crumbling into nothingness, while the second piece turned damp and fell apart.

Then something puzzling happened - the small remnants of both pieces moulded together to form a new piece of paper.

"Naruto-kun, it appears that you have wind, earth and water, though I do not understand what that last part was about," Nagato analysed and deduced.

Nagato suddenly grabbed him, and then formed the Seal Of Confrontation. In a flash of violet light, they disappeared.

In the forests outside of Konoha, they reappeared in a clearing. "What was that for?!" Naruto demanded, clearly displeased.

"Your house is certainly not a suitable place to throw around jutsu. And, I do not wish to attract attention," Nagato explained calmly. "These are some basic wind jutsus to learn."

Aiming at a rock, he formed three hand seals - Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon - and shouted, "Futon: Hanachiri Mai (Wind Style: Flower Scattering Dance)!"

At first, it seemed like nothing happened. Then, a few petals started stirring around Nagato. He thrust his hands forward, and a cyclone of petals rushed towards the rock, carving a hole in it as it bore through the whole thing, finally destroying it with an explosion.

"Woah!" Naruto marvelled at the sheer force of the cyclone.

"Here's another one: Futon: Kami Oroshi (Wind Style: Divine Down Current)!" Nagato shouted while performing the hand seals Tiger, Snake, Goat. The wind around him picked up speed, forming a whirling vortex which blasted towards the fragments of the rock. Those fragments in the vortex were reduced to smithereens upon contact with the razor-sharp wind chakra.

"This is the last wind jutsu I'm showing you. Futon: Reppusho (Wind Style: Gale Palm)!" Nagato clapped his hands together, and wind chakra manifested and compressed between his palms.

He moved his hands forward, launching the gale towards a tree which suffered multiple slashes that appeared seemingly from no where. Finally, the tree collapsed, now in the form of sliced planks.

Nagato declared, "That's all for today, if I went on you'd probably forget the hand seals." Then, he removed two scrolls, one labeled, "Earth" and the other "Water", both in Kanji.

"Read up, I'll be back tomorrow," Nagato said before leaving with a Shunshin. "And remember, don't tell anyone about me," his voice resounded in the clearing.

Naruto spent the rest of the day practicing the three jutsus, and read the scrolls before sunset. He then went to his favorite dining place - which of course, was Ichiraku Ramen.

"Oi Jiji, two Miso Ramen please!" "Coming right up!" Teuchi replied, going to the back of the stall to start preparing the soup.

His daughter, Ayame, asked casually, "Ne, Naruto-kun, how was your day?"

Not wanting to tell her about Nagato,  
he replied, "I went for some training today, I even learnt a few jutsu!" "Oh really? Sounds like you had fun then," she answered, while placing the two bowls on the table.

"Itadakimasu!" he said, after which he dug into his meal ravenously at an inhuman pace. "Thanks for the meal, Jiji!" he said, after paying, and left for home. Of course, not without the villagers sneering and scowling at him all the way.

The next day, Naruto woke up to the smell of eggs, bacon and... paper? He sat up and noticed a cloaked woman with blue hair and a flower in it setting up breakfast in his kitchen.

"Who are you?" he muttered, still slightly sleepy but wary of the woman, who turned to him, amber eyes meeting his cerulean ones.

"My name... is Konan. I was sent by Nagato to pick you up and bring you to the meeting site. But first order of business - breakfast," she said, passing him a plate.

After finishing, Konan raised her hands, and paper shot out of her cloak sleeves, which wrapped around Naruto. "Don't worry, just close your eyes," Konan told him in a comforting manner, "Kami Shunshin."

A loud fluttering sound could be heard, and a few moments later, the paper around him came off and re-entered her sleeves.

"You may open your eyes now."

Naruto complied, and took in the sight of a large cavern with many wooden dummies covering the floor and a mini forest at the far end.

"Naruto-kun, this place is deep underground," the voice of Kurama appeared in his head. "Thanks Kurama-chan," he thought back, that explained the musty smell.

"Now... shall we begin?" a voice surrounded him.

Author's Notes:  
This was quite a long chapter and would have been longer if I hadn't shifted the rest to the next chapter.

Until tomorrow,

Ja Ne


	4. Chapter 4

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 4: The Match

Previously:  
"Now... shall we begin?" a voice surrounded him.

Nagato stepped out of the shadows of the forest, and looked at Naruto, "This shall be our training ground from now on. Today, the objective is for you to fight against Konan-chan here using any of the jutsus you learnt yesterday, " he said, "You have two minutes to get ready."

Naruto sat down and meditated, attempting to manifest as much chakra as he could before the match.

Meanwhile, Konan slipped off her cloak and unbuttoned the ninja vest underneath, revealing a grey outfit with green-trimmed lapels and a long white belt wrapped many times around her lower body, serving as a skirt. Lastly, there was a red pouch placed right above her belt.

"Ne, Tou-san, Kaa-san, Kurama-chan, any strategy to beat Konan-san?" he thought, and then his world spun as he entered his mindscape. "Usually I would just jump around with my Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) and attack the enemy with my Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere), but it appears you have limited options here. So you know what? I'm thinking of teaching you the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)," Minato spoke.

This was ensued by Kushina whacking the back of Minato's head. "He only has two minutes, how can he learn in time?"

"Kushina-san, fortunately here in Naruto-kun's mindscape, a minute is but a second in real life, so based on my calculations Naruto-kun has 2 hours to learn the jutsu," Kurama said.

For the next five minutes, Minato proceeded to show Naruto the all-famous hand seal, and the Kage Bunshin's variants, including the Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Clone Technique) and the Bunshin Daibakuha (Shadow Clone Great Explosion). Additionally, he was taught the various uses of the Kage Bunshin.

"Now that you're ready, you should go field-test it Naruto-kun," Minato encouraged.

"Good luck!" Kushina said, "But I know you won't need it!"

The world spun again, and he opened his eyes. It was still one minute before the match started, so he decided to continue manifesting his chakra.

"Three, two, one, hajime!" Nagato shouted, then jumped back rapidly.

Naruto grinned at Konan, and shouted, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Konan's eyes widened in shock at the sight of hundreds of Narutos on the field. She stiffened, then opened her pouch to remove... paper?

"Kami Shuriken (Paper Shuriken)!" she shouted as the papers all folded to form Fuma (Wind Demon) Shuriken, which flew forward towards the Naruto army.

Surprisingly, this "paper" took out most of his clones, so he was forced to use another jutsu. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha (Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave)!" he said. While holding the Snake hand seal, he cocked his head back and took a deep breath, converting all the chakra in his mouth to water chakra. He spat it all out, flooding the whole field with his water jutsu.

Then his clones charged across the water, intent on engaging Konan in taijutsu.

Konan swore. The water wet her paper, making them hard to mould.

Taijutsu it was. She battled it out, obviously winning Naruto due to her experience.

She panted hard. Forty more clones to go, and this was one hell of a workout.

The six-year old stood in the water, and flashed through the hand seals: Ox, Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog, Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Yang Water, Monkey, Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Rabbit, Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Yang Water, Rat, Boar, Bird.  
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu)!" Naruto whispered, and the water started bubbling around him.

"What? He can use that? Looks like he's never gonna stop amazing me," Konan thought. A water dragon shot forth from the spot in front of Naruto, it's yellow eyes staring at Konan.

"Kami no Yate (Paper Shield)!" Papers started coming out of her pouch and formed a shield around her.

The dragon impacted the shield, resulting in an giant explosion which left a smokescreen covering the area.

Konan grimaced. She was almost out of chakra, after all, she had spent most of it preventing the blast.

"Hehe, Konan-san, are you alright? You seem tired," Naruto asked with a hint of playfulness.

"Let's carry on," Konan said, not wishing to be outdone by a six-year old boy.

"Alright! Futon: Reppusho! Doton: Ganchuso (Earth Style: Stone Column Spear)!"

Multiple spikes protruded from the ground and then flew off towards her, following the wind chakra which increased their cutting power.

"Nagato-kun! I forfeit!" Konan cried out at the last moment, and he nodded.

"Bansho Ten'in (Universal Pull)!" he shouted, and Konan flew towards Nagato who was on a platform near the top of the cavern.

She landed safely, and Nagato declared, "Naruto-kun, you win!"

So it was like that, that Naruto spent six years training with Nagato and Konan, learning many new jutsus, developing a personal taijutsu style, and learning his clan's revered art - fuinjutsu.

Six Years Later

The now twelve-year old Uzumaki Naruto was a Level 10 Seal Master, Taijutsu Specialist, and a Ninjutsu Master. His muscles grew more toned, and now there were bangs at the side of his face, much like his father. He also grew taller, and chakra pool was off the charts.

He was just about to Shunshin out of the field after a tough day of training when he heard a sobbing sound.

A young blonde girl burst into the clearing crying. She had long, straight hair, bound by a black bandage, which was the same colour as her pants. She donned a short-sleeved purple and black blouse, with two purple fingerless gloves and a chain of blue beads were wrapped around her left hand.

Most importantly, she wore a Kumo headband. Naruto immediately slipped into a battle stance, although he barely saw the need to. What six years with Nagato taught him was: never let your guard down.

"Kai (Release)!" he said, forming two hand seals: Tiger, Ram, and flared his chakra. Nope. The girl still did not transform back or disappear.

However, she was still an enemy shinobi. "Halt! State your name and business here in Konoha!" he said in the most business-like tone he could manage.

The girl stopped crying and finally noticed Naruto was in the clearing.

"My name... is Nii Yugito."

Author's Notes:  
Finally, the two characters meet! What will happen next? Find out soon with the next chapter!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	5. Chapter 5

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 5: A New Weapon For The Council

Previously:

"My name... is Nii Yugito."

"Business?" Naruto asked. "Long story, Guard-san," Yugito replied.

"... I still wanna hear it," Naruto decided.

"Ok. Back in Kumo, the Raikage, my grandfather, forced me into political marriage. Obviously, I was not happy because it was done without my consent," Yugito explained, "I, not wanting any part of it, told the Raikage about it. Alas, he did not listen, and threatened to ban me from missions."

"... which is why you're here?" Naruto said. "Actually, I just wondered to Konoha, hoping to seek refuge," she elaborated.

"Gomen, I have something to tell you," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes, Guard-san?"

"I'm not the guard."

"..."

"My time was just wasted, then," Yugito sighed.

"Not really. I'm well acquainted with the Hokage, so I might be able to get you in," Naruto offered.

Seeing her nod, Naruto grabbed her wrist. Yugito blushed, which went unnoticed by the oblivious blonde.

A chuckling sound from within the mindscape escaped, to which Naruto thought, "Ne, what's so funny Kurama-chan?"

"Nothing," Kurama replied, still trying to rein in her laughter.

"Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Jutsu)," he whispered while forming the Seal Of Confrontation. A second later, Yugito and he flickered into the Hokage's office.

"Good evening, Hokage-jiji!" Naruto said with a grin plastered on his face. "Hokage-jiji? I didn't know "acquaintance" was the same as family," Yugito thought.

"Naruto, I see you've brought your girlfriend?" the Sandaime teased. "No, Yugito-san here is trying to become a shinobi of Konoha," Naruto saved smoothly, for it caused Hiruzen to straighten and enter business mode.

"Name and rank?"

"Nii Yugito, Jonin of Kumogakure no Sato. Was, Hokage-dono."

"Ok... any reason I shouldn't kill you on the spot for trespassing Konoha instead of granting you a position here?"

Yugito sweatdropped, but knew it was true and legal. "Hokage-dono, I think Naruto-san here knows."

Naruto proceeded to explain the whole situation to the Hokage. "I'm getting a vibe from her, but it feels... nice and warm," Naruto thought.

Yugito lifted her blouse slightly, to the point where both occupants could see her navel. On it was a complex seal, but Naruto, being a Seal Master, recognised it immediately, as did the Hokage, who was not called "The Professor" for nothing.

"It's the-"

"It's my seal!" Naruto practically yelled.

"Hai, Hokage-dono, I'm the Nibi's Jinchuuriki," Yugito explained, and then backtracked, "Wait what did you mean by "It's my seal"? You mean-"

"Hai, Naruto-kun is a fellow Jinchuuriki," the Hokage confirmed.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes flashed red and it became slitted. "Hello, Matatabi. It's been a long time," Naruto spoke in a female voice.

Yugito eyes turned yellow and green, which left the Sandaime to wonder if she suffered from heterochromia.

"Yes, Kurama. Way too long," she answered. Then, both of their eyes turned back to their original colour.

"Great, the Council will love this. For now, I proclaim you, Nii Yugito, a Genin of Konohagakure no Sato." the Hokage opened a drawer and pulled out a Leaf headband.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Hokage-sama!"

Yugito said replacing her headband.

Activating a small Katon jutsu, the Kumo headband turned to ashes. "That kind of chakra control... amazing," the Sandaime thought.

"For your housing needs, I suggest you stay with Naruto for now," Hiruzen said. Our new Jinchuuriki blushed again, which caused the Hokage to think, "Seems like Naruto-kun has an effect on our newest kunoichi... interesting."

"You are dismissed!" he declared, and both of them exited the room, after which Naruto led Yugito to his house. "Make yourself at home."

"Ne, Yugito-chan, what's your favourite food?" "Ramen."

"You're in luck, Yugito-chan, ramen is also my favourite food. I know a place in Konoha which sells good ramen, we could go there for dinner," Naruto suggested.

"... ok then, let's go now," Yugito decided. "Did he just call me "Yugito-chan"? Twice? Wait, why the hell am I freaking out?" Yugito thought.

"Because it sounds like a date, and you are obviously starting to get infatuated with Naruto-kun," a voice appeared in her head, though it was not Matatabi. She almost fell after that.

"Who just answered me?" Yugito thought. Matatabi answered, "It's Kurama-chan, we just opened a chat room in your head."

"... can you please tell me next time before you guys do that? It's scary to have another voice appearing in your head suddenly," Yugito grumbled.

"Yugito-chan, let's go," Naruto took her hand, and ran out of the door. As they walked down the streets, Yugito noticed the glares he was receiving, though Naruto just ignored them.

When they finally arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi and Ayame greeted him, though they didn't know who the girl was.

"Jiji, three bowls of the usual please!" Teuchi nodded, and carried on with the order. "So... who's this young lady you brought with you, Naruto-kun?" Ayame teased.

"Yugito-chan here is a new genin, but she was originally from Kumo," Naruto explained. As soon as the three bowls touched the table, he passed one to Yugito and shouted, "Itadakimasu!" Breaking his chopsticks, he dug into the food, finishing at a record, one minute.

Meanwhile, Yugito sweatdropped as Ayame held a stopwatch.

After leaving the stand and returning home, there was another problem... there was only one bed. "I'm the host, I'll sleep on the floor," Naruto declared. "No, I'm the guest, I'll sleep on the floor," Yugito argued back.

"... or, you could both sleep on the bed!" both bijuu chorused at the same time, earning a blush from their hosts.

"I guess, there's enough space for both of us." Naruto changed into his nightwear, put on his animal cap, and lay on one side of the bed. Yugito on the other hand, simple removed her blouse and slipped into bed in an undershirt.

The next day, Naruto woke up to sunlight shining in his eyes. "Leave me be..." he groaned. Then he looked at the calander and almost fell out of bed. It was his first day at the Academy, and in twenty minutes time, both of them would be late.

"Shit, what to do?" he muttered, Yugito looked very peaceful just sleeping there, and he didn't think it was a good idea to wake her up.

"Kurama-chan, I need your help!" Naruto thought desperately. "Alright, Naruto-kun, just this once'" Kurama replied, "Shinso Shinri (Tailed Beast Psyche Plain)!"

"Matatabi, wake up your kitten," Kurama said, and Yugito began to stir while Naruto changed into his shinobi attire.

"Yugito-chan, we'll be late if you don't wake up!"

"Alright, alright, let me change first," said Yugito, before putting on her attire as well.

Two minutes later, they were running across the rooftops, and landed at the front door of the Academy. Reaching their classroom, Naruto knocked on the door just in time, and heard a "come in".

When he opened the door, a duster that was wedged between it and the door frame fell. It was just about to hit him when his lightning-quick reflexes kicked in. Grabbing the duster in mid-air and stepping aside, he gestured his hand towards the classroom in a dramatic flourish and allowed Yugito to pass through. "After you."

Behind a painting on the wall above the whiteboard, a single eye widened as he witnessed the episode through a hole. Naruto was even faster than him, even if he was using his other eye - the Sharingan.

"Wow, like a true gentleman! Not bad... Uzumaki Naruto," the teacher said, referring to his name list.

Naruto growled and said, "I want to know who put that there... Iruka-sensei," remembering him from a note he received about his class and homeroom teacher.

Iruka shrugged and pointed at a kid with spiky brown hair and red fang like markings on his cheeks.

"An Inuzuka, eh?" Naruto said with a sickly sweet smile, obviously noticing his fang marks. He walked over and whispered, "Don't do it again, or else..."

"Or else what, clanless boy?" Kiba smirked.

The Cyclops behind the wall had only one thought - "shit."

Grabbing him by his collar, Naruto threw him up slightly and when he came back down, he delivered an uppercut laced with chakra so potent it was visible, sending him flying through the ceiling and landing on the second floor of the Academy.

"There'll be no Father's Day for you!" he shouted up through the hole in the classroom ceiling.

Everyone in the class sweatdropped.

Naruto sat down at the back with Yugito, and Iruka carried on with his lessons.

Iruka announced, "There will be a Genin exam tomorrow, report on time."

The classroom chorused, "Hai, Sensei!"

Author's Notes:

This is kind of a filler chapter. But next chapter, Naruto will exhibit his skills.

Until tomorrow,

Ja Ne


	6. Chapter 6

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 6: Genin Exams

Previously:  
The classroom chorused, "Hai, Sensei!"

The next day, Yugito and Naruto arrived at the academy via Shunshin, this time much earlier.

When they sat down, Kiba just gave him a holier-than-thou look. Naruto merely stuck his tongue back at him, earning a smack on the arm from Yugito who muttered, "Childish."  
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and a certain black haired sulking emo walked into the classroom. Immediately after seating down, the girls around him started swooning and shouting, "Sasuke-kun!"

A yellow and pink blur appeared at the door, and two girls, Sakura and Ino if he remembered clearly from yesterday, shoved each other. "Sasuke-kun is mine, forehead!" "I came here first, Ino-pig!"

Naruto sighed, seriously? Fangirls? Iruka walked in on the sight of a noisy class, which caused him to gain a huge tick mark on his forehead so he used his patented Big Head Jutsu.

"Sit down squirts! The exam will begin soon. One by one when I call your name, proceed to Room 107. Mizuki-san will be helping me with the test," Iruka all but shouted.

After ten minutes of waiting, being an "Uzumaki", his name was name was finally called. After entering the room, the seated Mizuki grinned and said, "Uzumaki Naruto, is it? Perform the Academy Three."

"Henge (Transform)!" Naruto shouted, holding the Ram hand seal. As you can guess, Mizuki struggled to hold back a nosebleed. "Kai!"

"Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)!" he said, forming five hand seals: Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake, replacing himself with a nearby chair.

However, the "him" burst into smoke, and the "chair" did so as well, revealing Naruto.

Shaking as he wrote it down, Mizuki declared, "You pass. Now go to the Shurikenjutsu Room."

Smirking, Naruto left. "Now that you are all here, proceed to show me your shurikenjutsu," Iruka said, "Go in pairs. Starting from the back of the list, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, step out and take your positions."

Naruto grinned while Sasuke just released a "hmph" sound, one that caused all the females with the exception of Yugito, Hinata and Tenten to swoon and comment, "Sasuke-kun is so cool!"

Handing them a bunch of kunai and shuriken, Iruka said, "You each have one minute to throw all 20 of your projectiles. Accuracy is important here." Then, summoning a few clones, he shouted, "Hajime!"

Sasuke immediately grabbed his kunai and started firing them off, spending only two seconds to aim. Most of his kunai hit the clone, then followed by his shuriken.

Meanwhile, our blonde hero just stood there, not throwing a single projectile since the time started. Naruto looked with his right eye, then his left eye, and constantly switched stances.

"10 seconds left!" Iruka shouted, thinking what the hell was Naruto up to.

He finally picked up his projectiles, then focusing with both eyes, leaned back and fired off his shuriken. Secretly, he had used wind chakra to propel them even faster towards their target. Upon closer inspection, one may have noticed that the projectiles all hit vital points, causing the clone to dispel as a result.

"Time's up!" Iruka announced, actually impressed at Naruto's attempt. Sasuke just made another "hmph" sound, because he had not been able to throw his last shuriken.

"Naruto, you aced the test with all hits and certainly, less messier than Sasuke's handiwork," commented Iruka, referring to the bloody and mutilated corpse that was left before it dispelled, because the injuries he inflicted were severe but not life-threatening.

"I'm sorry Sasuke but the same can't be said for you," Iruka continued.

"Hmph" was his reply.

And so for the next 20 minutes, Iruka tested the class, with Yugito (obviously being a jonin) doing as well as Naruto.

"Now on to sparring! Will the previous pairs from just now's test please form again," Iruka instructed.

"First Match: Aburame Shino vs Akimichi Choji! Hajime!"

"Aburame Shino wins!"

"Second Match: Haruno Sakura vs Hyuga Hinata! Hajime!"

"Hyuga Hinata wins!"

"Third Match: Hyuga Neji vs Inuzuka Kiba! Hajime!"

"Hyuga Neji wins!"

"Fourth Match: Nara Shikamaru vs Nii Yugito! Hajime!"

"Yugito-chan, give your best!" Naruto shouted. "Yugito-chan, huh? Interesting, indeed," Iruka thought, potential teasing material.

She nodded, and sprang forth from her spot, engaging Shikamaru in taijutsu. Shikamaru just said, "Oh great, a girl? How troublesome.", causing everyone in the room to sweatdrop.

He punched and kicked, but no matter how many times he did, he missed because of her cat-like agility.  
"No taijutsu, then," he muttered, and backpaddled. "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Jutsu)!" Shikamaru shouted, while forming the Rat hand seal.

She was just about to run towards him when she noticed the shadow line charging across the floor. Jumping back, she noticed the shadow stopped at a certain point. "If that thing catches me, I'm done for," Yugito thought.

Suddenly, Shikamaru started sprinting towards her. Then, an idea formed in her head. Removing one of her kunai, she threw it at the switch for the whole room's light, turning off all the lamps in the room. Immediately, Shikamaru's shadow line disappeared.

Next, Yugito activated her cat eyes, enabling her night vision. She started fighting the startled Shikamaru in the dark, who could only base his attacks and defences on sounds.

"It's over! Nekohibachi (Cat Fire Bowl)!" Yugito elbowed Shikamaru in the stomach, sending him flying into the air. She spun, emitting a fearsome blue light full of demonic chakra, and when she stopped, Matatabi the Nibi emerged.

"That's the..." Iruka stuttered.

Her two tails burst forwards, aiming towards Shikamaru. Multiple blue fireballs streamed forth and converged on him.

Shikamaru dropped to the floor, unconscious. Iruka broke out of his trance, and announced, "Nii Yugito wins!", while turning the lights back on.

A flash of blue light, and Matatabi was once again Yugito. She dropped down, exhausted from the use of the Nibi. She almost hit the floor, when Naruto caught her. "I'll send her to the hospital," he said, then left by a Shunshin.

He handed her over to a medic at the hospital, who said she would take about two hours to recover after running a diagnostic. "I'll fetch her later," said Naruto, before returning to the Academy via Shunshin.

"Winner: Rock Lee!"

"Now that he's back, let's begin the Last Match: Uchiha Sasuke vs Uzumaki Naruto! Hajime!"

Author's Note:  
Cliffhanger! Note that a normal clone is tougher than a shadow clone, which is why it takes a lot more to beat one than just one shuriken.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	7. Chapter 7

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 7: Fan Versus Whirlpool

Previously: "Now that he's back, let's begin the Last Match: Uchiha Sasuke vs Uzumaki Naruto! Hajime!"

"Dobe you're going down, there's no way a clanless guy like you can beat me, an elite Uchiha!" taunted Sasuke, who was still miffed about losing to him in shurikenjutsu earlier.

"Shishi Rendan (Barrage Of Lions)!" Sasuke shouted, and kicked Naruto in the air, and repeatedly buried his fists into his stomach. Next he kicked Naruto in the spine, and twisted his ankles with a crunch, ending with a drop kick to his stomach. He panted heavily, this was the price of a powerful taijutsu technique - fatigue.

Naruto, who lay sprawled on the ground, started laughing. "What's funny, dobe?" Sasuke growled. "This," said "Naruto" before dispelling.

"Shit! Katon: Karyu Endan (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!" Sasuke shouted while forming the hand seals: Ram, Horse, Snake, Dragon, Rat, Ox, Tiger. Naruto was rushing towards him when he saw him doing a fire jutsu, so he replied:

"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Style: Water Formation Wall)!" Naruto said, while reciting the hand seals as he formed them, "Tiger, Snake, Rat, Snake, Tiger (a palindrome?)."

Spitting out the chakra-infused wall, he anticipated as Sasuke's katon jutsu collided with his suiton one.

A wall of steam settled over the Shurikenjutsu Room (they are still inside remember?), and Sasuke was thinking, "How is he so strong? Damn it, I spent too much chakra on the jutsu and energy on the Shishi Rendan. Now, I can't even see him."

A call of "Futon: Reppusho" was all he needed as the mist cleared, dispersed by Naruto's wind jutsu. Correction - Narutos.

A giant clone army charged at Sasuke, and proceeded to attack him in systemically. "U-ZU-MA-KI Naruto Nisen Rendan (Uzumaki Naruto 2K Barrage)!" the army chorused, attacking him every time a syllable was shouted, ending with a two-man uppercut to his chin.

Sasuke flew upwards, landing on his back unconscious. Naruto jumped in the air and timed it such that he ended up crushing his stomach when he landed, sealing the deal.

"Uzumaki Naruto wins!" Iruka declared. Sakura and the other fangirls started shouting, "He cheated! No one can beat my precious Sasuke-kun!"

"Alright you are all dismissed!" Iruka announced, and the students scattered.

Naruto left the Academy, and headed to his favourite Ichiraku Ramen stand. "Jiji, the usual please," Naruto requested. "Already got you covered!" Teuchi said, whipping two bowls out of the kitchen and placing them on the stand.

"Oi! Uzumaki Naruto! Why did you beat up my Sasuke-kun?" Sakura suddenly appeared on his right, apparently she was stalking him. "Firstly, I didn't "beat him up". It was a fair and just spar. Secondly, he's not "your Sasuke-kun", can't you see he hates you fangirls?"

Naruto continued to slurp his noodles, ignoring her. A tick mark appeared on Sakura's forehead. Cocking her arm, she threw it towards Naruto with all her strength, but he caught her fist with his left hand, then using his right, striked her in her pressure points. "Stay away," he ordered, releasing a bit of killer intent.

Whimpering, Sakura crawled away in intense pain. "Was that really necessary, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked, concerned about his sudden violence. "I don't like it either, but what choice do I have?" came Naruto's reply. Opening his wallet, he slapped 1000 ryo on the table, and left (typically a bowl of ramen costs 500 ryo/yen).

After body flickering to his house, he sat down and meditated on the floor, compensating for his chakra usage.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, Kurama-chan, any new tactics or jutsu you can teach me?" "Yes, in fact, I've been planning to teach you this for a while now," Minato said, "Just imagine two water balloons. This is your mindscape, so you can change it anyway you want. For now, all you need is two water balloons."

Naruto focused on his hands, and two water balloons materialised on each. Minato took one, and instructed, "Your objective is to burst the balloon by spinning the water inside with your chakra rapidly, as such."

With one hand, Minato held out the balloon. Suddenly, chakra started swirling and gathering in the centre of it, and the balloon exploded, leaving Minato's invented jutsu visible - a glowing blue self-sustaining ball of chakra with a whitish core.

"This is the end product - the Rasengan. Once you've finished the first step, come back here for the second step," Minato explained, and Naruto returned to the real world with the balloon intact.

Naruto concentrated, and forced rotating chakra out of his hand, causing the water inside the balloon to start swirling. However, no matter how much chakra he put in, the balloon still didn't burst.

After 30 minutes of spamming his chakra, he decided to stop and pick up Yugito from the hospital as he did not wish to suffer from chakra burns.

Yugito opened her eyes, and immediately thought,"Where am I?", after all, no matter where she was, letting her guard down was not a good idea. Voices appeared everywhere, painful for the headache she was currently feeling. "... she can be discharged now," a voice broke through the cloud that was her mind. "Discharged? I'm in the hospital? Oh I remember now, I used my Tailed Beast Cloak," Yugito recalled.

"Arigato, Doctor-san! I'll take over now," the familiar voice of Naruto piercing the air. "Naruto-kun... lower please... headache," she muttered, "Voices all around me..."

Apparently, Naruto noticed her because he whispered, "Awake now, Yugito-chan? Let's go, you can sleep at home."

Picking her up bridal style, he ran up to the top floor and dashed across the rooftops. When he entered the house and set her on the bed, he suddenly got an idea. "All around, huh?" repeated Naruto, referring to her previous statement.

Picking up the balloon, he pushed chakra again, this time with both hands. Using his other hand, he rapidly made grabbing motions on all sides of the ball not already covered by his other hand's chakra.

With his chakra all around the ball, the water swirled everywhere inside and eventually exploded, dousing both him and Yugito in the water, which woke her up.

"What the hell was that?" Yugito grumbled, clearly unhappy to be woken up. "Ano, that was the first stage of my new jutsu Yugito-chan," he explained while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Yugito smiled, she couldn't stay angry at him forever. "Alright, show it to me again."

Naruto went into his mindscape and exited with another water balloon and a rubber ball.

Picking up the balloon, he reproduced the effect which amazed Yugito. "Tou-san asked me to burst this ball, but because it is thicker and there's air inside instead of water, I need to use denser chakra to break it," said Naruto as he picked up the rubber ball.

"Wait, Tou-san? What do you mean?" Yugito asked, clearly confused. Naruto sighed and explained the whole thing to her. "... and that's how I met my parents. Now watch."

Tossing it in the air, he formed the Ram hand seal, causing his chakra to flare and coat him. Then, he caught the ball with both hands and began to push his chakra into the ball. But, it seemed like the chakra still couldn't enter the ball. "Even thinner, then," he thought, and pictured his chakra sharpening to a point. The chakra began to seep into the ball, and squeezed the air within.

Now that the whole ball was filled with chakra, he imagined it swirling like a whirlpool to a single point. Once the core was filled with potent chakra, he stopped his chakra flow into the ball.

The rubber ball started vibrating wildly, and exploded with chakra as the sphere within expanded, throwing Naruto away back 5 meters.

"Yes! I did it!" Naruto was just about to enter his mindscape, when Yugito grabbed his shoulder. "Naruto-kun, I think you have to stop for the day, or else you'll end up like me."

"Alright," he pouted, and climbed into bed, forgetting to even change into his nightwear. Yugito stifled a laugh, and removed her gear while slipping into bed.

The Next Day

Iruka announced, "Genin Team assignments begin now. Team 7: Naruto, Sasuke and..."

Author's Notes:  
Evil cliffhanger! Concerning a guest review about my story progressing too fast, I wish to tell whoever that is that we just got to the team assignments, so I don't see how that's fast. Sorry for the late post, don't butcher me.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	8. Chapter 8

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 8: Team 7 Assembles

Previously:  
Iruka announced, "Genin Team assignments begin now. Team 7: Naruto, Sasuke and..."

"Sakura." Sakura cheered, and laughed at Ino, "Looks like I'm getting him first Ino-pig!" Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke just stared at each other intently, slightly irritated.

"Team 8: Yugito, Hinata and Shino." Yugito appeared calm, but Hinata smiled deviously while Shino remained stoic as ever.

"Team 9: Neji, Tenten and Lee." Neji and Tenten facepalmed at the same time, while Lee was shouting something about his "flames of youth".

"Team 10: Shikamaru, Ino and Choji." Shikamaru just muttered, "How troublesome.", while Choji said, "Great!"

"Team 11: Kiba, Mina and Kim," Kiba grumbled, as having his sister Kim in his team was not how he pictured it. Kim felt the same, and Hyuga Mina just remained silent.

"Now, your respective senseis will pick you up," Iruka said, as three jonin walked into the classroom.

"I'm Yuhi Kurenai, jonin sensei of Team 8," a woman dressed in a red mesh shirt wrapped with many bandages said. She had raven black hair and ruby red eyes.

"Yosh! I'm Might Guy, jonin sensei of Team 9!" Again, Neji and Tenten facepalmed, while he posed with a thumbs-up.

"I'm Sarutobi Asuma, jonin sensei of Team 10," a bearded man smoking a cigarette said. "Don't you know smoking is bad for a shinobi, Asuma-sensei?" Shikamaru commented. "Just like his father," Asuma thought, a splitting image of Nara Shikaku appeared.

"I'm Naomi Uzuki, jonin sensei of Team 11," a kunoichi with purple hair stepped forth, dressed in a black Uzumaki jumpsuit with a flak jacket.

"Where's our sensei?" Sakura shrieked, causing everyone in the room to jump. The jonins shared a knowing look, and Guy said, "My eternal rival is late again!"

The man behind the painting on the wall above the whiteboard sweatdropped, then smirked. "Interesting, I wonder if my new genin will pass my test?" He exited the secret compartment, and left for the classroom.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, jonin sensei of Team 7," he said as he walked in, noticing his genin were the only ones left in the class.

"You're late, sensei!" Sakura all but shouted, and rushed towards him with her fists clenched, ready to pummel him.

"Here we go again," Naruto thought.

"Meet me at the roof," Kakashi said while performing a Shunshin causing Sakura to stumble and land on the floor.

When Kakashi appeared on the roof, he was surprised to see a bright flash of yellow light. "Just like sensei..." he thought as an image of the Yondaime replaced Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei, those two will take forever to get up because they used the stairs, so why not tell me about yourself?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm, alright. I'm Kakashi Hatake, I like reading the Icha Icha series, dislike traitors, and my hobby is reading. My dream..." an image of Team Minato appeared as he spoke, "Is not important. Your turn."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, friends, and my precious people like Yugito-chan, Hokage-jiji, Teuchi-jiji, and Ayame-chan. I dislike arrogant pricks like Sasuke-teme and fangirls like Sakura. I also dislike villagers who mistreat me and view me as a demon. My hobbies include eating ramen, training and inventing new jutsu. My dream is to become Hokage and earn everyone's respect, with the ability to protect my precious people."

By this time, Sasuke and Sakura had arrived, though both were panting like they were chased by lions. "The dobe is here already?" Sasuke voiced out.

"Unlike you teme," Naruto shot back.

Sakura was just about to add in when Kakashi cut in, "Introduce yourself, one by one, excluding Naruto because he did it already. Starting with you, ducky."

Sasuke scowled, and replied, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like nothing, hate everything, especially my brother, and I have no hobbies. My dream... is to kill my brother and avenge my clan."

Sakura looked at him with stars in his eyes, and started off, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like (insert perverted giggle)..., I dislike Naruto-teme, and my hobbies are gossiping and (insert another perverted giggle). My dream is to (insert loud perverted giggle)."

Kakashi and Naruto sweatdropped, and Kakashi said, "...ok... you are all dismissed. Meet me at Training Ground Seven 5 a.m. tomorrow. Don't bother eating breakfast, it will be so intensive you'll puke.", leaving with another body flicker.

Naruto happily body flickered to his house, because he was eager to learn the last step of the Rasengan. When he arrived, Yugito was already there, preparing lunch. "You can finish the technique... after lunch," she said, while handing him a bowl of rice with curry and fish.

"Yes mum," he replied sarcastically, earning a whack on the back of the head. "Do you know how long I took to prepare it?" ranted Yugito, and Naruto just waved his hands in a placating gesture.

After finishing his food, he commented, "That was actually not bad." Yugito grinned, then undressed. "Glad you like it. Now if you don't mind, I'm taking a bath. Try to finish your jutsu before I come out."

Naruto nodded, then entered his mindscape. "First things first," he said, and the whole sewer disintegrated into a white void. Next, fields of flowers started appearing, and a lush forest grew to complement them. In the forest, there was a giant hill with a cave carved into it. Outside the cave entrance, there was a curtain of water gushing over it, which ended in a lake in front of the cave. Above the hill, a house sprung out and inside there was furniture of all kinds. Nearby, there was a river which split into two: one fed the waterfall covering the cave, the other flowed into a pool which was decorated as an onsen.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, Kurama-chan, this is your new home," Naruto declared, and they all hugged him before proceeding to check it out. Minato told him, "Combine both of the earlier steps to form the Rasengan, but without shaking the ball, this is to emphasise stability."

Understanding what his father said, Naruto left the mindscape with a rubber ball, and started spinning his chakra within after sharpening it again. Replicating the action with his other hand, he swiftly placed his chakra around the ball. The dense chakra flowed through the ball, and once again converged to form a white core.

The blue sphere vibrated, but that was what was not wanted. He tried slowing the flow of chakra until he eventually cut it off, and when he did, chakra from the surroundings started seeping into the rubber ball and feeding the Rasengan. The ball stopped vibrating, and he cried out, "I did it!"

The Rasengan grinded the ball until it was gone, like shedding a shell. At this moment, Yugito stepped out of the bath in robes, and witnessed the sight of the feared Rasengan. Dressing quickly, she ran over and patted him on the back, "Well done! But can you try doing it without the ball?"

"Good question," he replied, and on a whim, closed his fist. The surrounding chakra stopped flowing in, and the Rasengan diminished in size quickly, finally disappearing with a flash.

Stretching out both hands, he quickly supplemented the area above one with the other's chakra as if a ball was there. Then, refining his chakra, a white core started to form with both his chakra and the surrounding chakra swirling into it. "I get it, without the ball, the surrounding chakra gets sucked into the core more easily, making it faster to make a Rasengan," he deduced.

The Rasengan quickly expanded till it reached normal size. Throughout the process, he had been slowing the flow like he did earlier until he stopped doing it and let the natural chakra take over. "Now that it's stabilised, what if... I feed it with more chakra?"

Deciding to try, he compressed chakra into the highly dense sphere. The result? The Rasengan expanded again, until Naruto cut the chakra flow. "Woah! I need to tell Tou-san about this!" he said, excited to have made a revelation.

"Naruto-kun, don't you think he knows already? After all, he shares your thoughts and senses with you," Yugito reasoned, and he facepalmed.

In a certain house above a certain hill, a certain blonde laughed, and commented to his spouse, "He has already surpassed me in the Rasengan. I took three years, while he only took two days. What's next, the Hiraishin?"

"Who knows?" his wife said, and they shared a hearty laugh.

In the real world, Naruto spent the rest of the day training his personal taijutsu style, though he was tired from his extensive chakra usage. In the evening, he returned to the house with Yugito, who trained as well.

He was so tired, he just collapsed into bed and fell asleep immediately. Yugito sweatdropped, and went through with eating dinner and some light reading before falling asleep as well, the book still on her lap.

The Next Day

Yugito rose, and was surprised to see Naruto already up and wearing his shinobi sandals. "I've got training today, see you later Yugito-chan," he said as he left, noticing that she was awake.

Now that she thought about it, he did sleep early last night, so naturally he would be up earlier.

"Ne, didn't eat my dinner last night, so might as well eat breakfast," thought Naruto, who ignored Kakashi's words. Biting into his baguette, he reached there at 5.30 a.m., which of course Sakura took chance of to insult him, along with the fact he was eating.

"Didn't you hear Kakashi-sensei? Don't eat breakfast! And you're late!" Sakura screeched, while Naruto just ignored her.

A late Kakashi arrived, and Sakura found her new target. "Kakashi-sensei, you're late again!"

"Well, you see, I got lost on the road of life, and had to take the long way to get back because there was a black cat there as well, so-"

"Cut the crap, let's begin," Naruto interrupted, much to Kakashi's relief.

"Alright, you have the whole day to get these two bells from me, whoever doesn't have the bell will get disqualified and will be sent back to the Academy, additionally he or she will be tied to those posts and watch as the other two take their lunch. Any questions? If not let's begin," Kakashi explained while taking out the bells, hanging them from his pants' waistband and pointing out the wooden posts nearby.

A Shunshin later, and he was gone. "So that's the reason why he didn't want us to take breakfast," he thought, and voiced, "Listen, I don't like this, but if we are to beat him, we must work together."

The Uchiha grunted in agreement, even he couldn't take him down himself. "So here's the plan..."

Author's Notes: Hope you guys are not too disappointed about Naruto and Yugito not being on the same team. As for why I did so, you'll figure out soon enough. Anyways, does anyone notice that this is my first fan fiction? As for a review I received about adding more "meat and potatoes", I'm afraid I didn't understand what that meant. So anyway, look out for the next chapter tomorrow, it's gonna be exciting!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	9. Chapter 9

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 9: The Bell Test

Previously:  
"So here's the plan..."

Forming a special hand seal, Naruto whispered, "Chakra Kanchi no Jutsu (Chakra Sensing Jutsu). He's there!" Naruto pointed to nearby tree, and Kakashi's eye widened in shock.

"That fast?" he thought, and immediately dashed off to other trees. Team 7 chased him, and when he finally stopped at a field, he turned around. "Lesson One Of A Shinobi: Taijutsu," he said as he fought Sasuke, using quick punches to gain advantage. Sasuke stumbled back, and Naruto stepped forward while slipping into a stance.

The moment Kakashi started attacking him, he parried all his strikes and delivered a palm strike to his chest, which sent the jonin flying back. He did a back flip, and wondered how he could match his speed. "Time to up my game," he said, raising his hitaite, though he couldn't believe he needed it against a bunch of twelve-year olds, of which only two could even fight properly.

"So early, Kakashi-sensei? I'd expect more of the Copy Nin, "Sharingan no Kakashi"," Naruto taunted, unknowingly getting on his nerves.

Kakashi rushed forward, and engaged Naruto, who found that he had to speed up his attacks and defences faster than ever. He missed one quick flash, which caught him in the stomach, throwing him back. "At this rate I won't win," Naruto thought.

"Alright, Lesson Two Of A Shinobi: Genjutsu," Kakashi declared, and with his Sharingan, instructed, "Look into my eye Sakura."

Naruto facepalmed. What kind of idiot looked into the eyes of a Sharingan user intentionally, especially one that just said "Genjutsu"? But he couldn't blame her, Kakashi's voice compelled him to follow whatever he said, but he had the willpower to break out of it, unlike Sakura.

Sakura started screaming, "No, Kakashi-sensei, don't hurt my Sasuke-kun! No!" "Tiger, Ram," Naruto whispered, and shouted, "Kai!"

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes stopped having that glazed look. She blinked multiple times, and stared at Kakashi, who simply gave her one of his eye smiles.

"Lesson Three Of A Shinobi: Ninjutsu!" Kakashi said while forming hand seals: Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger, and shouted,"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)!" Drawing a deep breath, he shot out a great fiery ball of fire chakra towards them.

Sasuke moved in front of Sakura while shouting, "Dobe! Hurry up!" "I know!" Naruto shouted back, finishing the last hand seal of the palindrome and shouted, "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

A water wall came out and surrounded the trio, and when the fireball made contact, they canceled each other out, making a smokescreen of mist settle over the training ground. "Now's our chance!" Naruto whispered in a hushed tone, "Take your positions!"

Manoeuvring quickly behind Kakashi, Sasuke shouted, "Katon: Uchiha Daien no Jutsu (Fire Style: Uchiha Great Fire Jutsu)!" Spitting out a large wave of flames that the Uchiha were famous for, Kakashi had no choice but to dodge to the side. Seeing Sakura closing in on him from his right with her fist, he instinctively turned to his left.

"Where's Naruto... OH MY GOD!" he was so shocked, he forgot to move - not that he could go anywhere. Naruto dispelled a clone, and sprinted towards him. "Odama Rasengan!" he called out, and Kakashi's eyebrows raised even higher if that were possible. As Naruto slammed it into his stomach, the Rasengan exploded, the highly compressed chakra finally free. Kakashi was thrown backwards and spun at the same time, as if he was in a washing machine. Blackness creeped into his vision, and his last thought was "shit".

Naruto smiled, and said, "Great job everyone!" Taking the two bells, he gave them out to both of them. "What about you dobe? Not that I care, but you were the one who knocked him out," Sasuke asked. "I'll do fine," Naruto replied, "After all, I took my breakfast."

After Kakashi came to, he said, "You all pass. Now you're all dismissed. Meet back here tomorrow at 8 a.m., except Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura you can leave." They dispersed and left the field, leaving Naruto and Kakashi alone.

"Uh-oh," Naruto thought. "Now can you explain to me, where in hell did you learn that jutsu?" Kakashi demanded, though it was disguised by his fake tone as he replaced his hitaite. "I didn't learn it in hell, Kakashi-sensei," he tried to answer through semantics.

"Oh please... you expect me to believe a twelve-year old could come up with a jutsu that my sensei took three years to perfect?" Kakashi retorted. "Wait, sensei?" Naruto asked innocently to try and change the subject. "Yes, the Yondaime was my sensei. Now spill the beans."

Naruto sighed, "This will not be easy to answer. I'll have to show you myself." He grabbed Kakashi's shoulder and sat down, forcing him to do so as well. "I never tried this before, but I can guess how this works. Clear your mind," Naruto instructed, and as soon as Kakashi did, he was pulled into a realm of meadows.

"Welcome to my mindscape, Kakashi-sensei," he stated, "Here I am god. I decide each and everything that happens here. Including this."

He imagined a needle in his hand, and a metallic object appeared the next moment. "From something as small as this," he said as the needle disappeared, "To something as large as this." A mountain started rising before them, and then with a wave of his hand, the mountain sank back into the ground. "Woah..." Kakashi marvelled at the sheer power he was just shown.

"Now, let's go," Naruto declared, while grabbing Kakashi and forming the Seal Of Confrontation. A flash of yellow light later, and they appeared at the front of a giant bungalow. "So... who lives here?" Kakashi questioned. He didn't answer, but instead knocked on the door.

Kushina opened the door, and was surprised to see Naruto's guest. "Kakashi-kun?" "K-Kushina-san?" Kakashi rubbed his eye to make sure he was believing who he was seeing. "Ne, Kaa-san, is Tou-san here?" "Yes, come in first," she said, while ushering the two in. "Wait, Kaa-san? If you are his mother that means his father is-"

"Kakashi-kun, long time no see," said Minato, who was lounging on the plush sofa. Kakashi almost fainted then. "Minato-sensei?"

"So... that's how I learnt the Rasengan. Speaking of which, watch this," Naruto explained, then held out his hand. Using his left hand, he quickly surrounded the area above his his right with dense, swirling chakra. Next, a white core began to from as natural chakra and his gathered into one point.

As the thing expanded, he slowly cut off chakra as the Rasengan reached its normal size, with natural chakra sustaining its shape and power. "Now watch closely," Naruto said, and Kakashi raised his hitaite. Through the Sharingan, Kakashi watched as he fueled the Rasengan with more of his chakra, and the thing actually expanded again.

"I call this the Odama Rasengan," he said, "Now that I'm done here, let's go Kakashi-sensei. But remember, don't tell anyone about this."

Then grabbing him, they spun back into the real world. Standing up, Naruto said, "I'll be leaving now.", and body flickered to his favourite shop in town - Ichiraku Ramen. After eating lunch, he left for home.

Went he was home, Yugito was not there yet, so he presumed that she was still training with her team.

Training Ground 8

"Ok, that's all for today, I have assessed your abilities," announced Kurenai, after which she left via Shunshin.

"Yugito, I want to talk to you," Hinata said, just as Shino left as well. Suddenly, her expression turned cold. "Recently, I have noticed you getting close to my Naruto-kun."

"Wait, what? No, what did you mean by "getting close"?" Yugito asked, and she replied, "Don't lie, my Byakugan can see through anything. Including your lies." She activated her Byakugan just to emphasise.

"He's not "yours" in any way, Hinata," Yugito answered, which caused her to narrow her eyes. "No... not yet..." she said, and lunged toward Yugito with her fingertips lighting up with chakra.

Author's Notes:  
Thank you for the reviews, I finally have my questions answered. Sorry for the late posts as I had a writer's block near the end on how to end it. Chapter 10 Special Edition: I will answer the first ten questions I receive as truly as possible on the next chapter's Author's Notes. So rate, review, and send me some questions!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne 


	10. Chapter 10

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 10: The Confrontation

Previously:  
"No... not yet..." she said, and lunged toward Yugito with her fingertips lighting up with chakra.

Yugito was shocked, she actually attacked her? With her cat-like agility, she ducked, and flipped backwards. "Close-combat with a Hyuga is not good," she thought, as Hinata closed in once again.

"Hinata, don't do this!" Yugito pleaded, though to no avail as she was forced to duck the Hyuga's blows. "I did not follow him for years just to let a bitch like you steal him away!"

Yugito did another backflip, and shouted, "Hinata, don't make me do this!" Still, the Hyuga surged forth with determination in her eyes. "Jyuken no Rendan (Barrage Of Gentle Fists)!"

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Yugito called out, and a fireball shot out from her mouth. "Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation)!" A dome of chakra spun around Hinata, rendering the fireball jutsu useless.

"Damn..." Yugito thought, as she wouldn't be able to get to her at this rate. "I need to overpower her... but how?" Yugito brainstormed with desperation, while dodging the deadly blows.

"That's it! I got it!" she said, and her eyes turned yellow and green. The bandage tying her hair snapped, letting her blonde hair flow wildly.

"What's this..." Hinata widened her eyes, and examined her chakra coils. They were blue, which was normal, but it was way too blue to belong to a normal person. "Nekomata Gokakyu (Cat Fireball)!" A fiery blue ball of flame was flung towards the Hyuga, who once again used the Kaiten.

Unfortunately for Hinata, the demonic chakra began eating into her Kaiten, and she couldn't spin forever. Scowling at Yugito who was in her Bijuu Cloak, she stopped spinning and dodged to the side.

Yugito closed up the gap between them, and sent her own blasts of demonic chakra at her, only parried by Hinata's Jyuken.

Eventually, her Bijuu Cloak receded, and she was tired as hell. "Bitch, it appears that you have run out of your demonic chakra... I hate demons you know..." Hinata taunted, then her hands glowed with her chakra flowing out of the tenketsu near her fingertips.

"It's over!" Rushing towards the jinchuuriki, she struck her in the tenketsu near the heart - or was supposed to. A puff of smoke later, and it was revealed that she had not hit Yugito - in fact, it was even worse.

She had hit Naruto.

"I'm disappointed in you, Hinata," Naruto commented while coughing up blood. "You hate demons... well I'm telling you I hold one."

In the cave within the mindscape, Kurama gasped. Did he hate her?

"But you see, the thing is, I have nothing against demons, unlike you.", and Kurama sobbed in relief.

"Why... why did you save me, Naruto-kun?!" Yugito questioned as tears filled her eyes.

"Because... I have finally realised my feelings for you... Yugito-chan," said Naruto, before his eyes closed and he collapsed, crumpling into the arms of Yugito.

Yugito sobbed, and via Shunshin, left Hinata to think about what she had done.

"Yugito-chan, for now, he's still alive, but he requires urgent medical assistance... or a miracle. Currently, the Kyuubi is doing her best to heal him," came the voice of Matatabi.

"Ok... I hope this works," she muttered, and began to apply medical chakra to his chest. After all, in order to be a jonin, she had to be jonin level in all areas.

As five minutes of continuous healing went by, it seemed that despite the healing factor the Kyuubi bestowed and the medical chakra that Yugito added, he was a goner.

Both Kurama and Yugito wept, as their host and new lover respectively died before their eyes.

"I believe I can help," a voice appeared, and a man stepped out of the shadows. His Rinnegan shone brightly under the lights of Naruto's house.

Both the Bijuu gasped. Those eyes... the eyes of their creator.

"Gedo: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Outer Path: Samsara Of Heavenly Life Jutsu)!" Nagato shouted, and the King Of Hell was summoned. His mouth opened, and green light shot out of it. The light reformed into a soul, and it started to re-infuse into Naruto's body.

The King Of Hell dispelled, and Naruto started to groan. "Now that... stung like a bitch," he muttered, and he opened his eyes.

Yugito cried tears of joy as she hugged him. "You idiot... don't do that again..."

In his mindscape, his parents sighed and Kushina commented, "Trust him to sacrifice himself to save a loved one... a lot like you Minato."

"Don't worry, Yugito-chan, I'll be there for you... always," Naruto declared as he leaned in, and had his first kiss.

It was a hungry one, and one filled with passion... enough said.

"Not that I want to spoil the mood, but I have some business to settle with Naruto-kun," Nagato said after clearing his throat as loudly as he could.

"Yes, Nagato-sensei? And thank you for saving me," he added after the Kyuubi told him what happened.

"I'm dying."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Naruto demanded. "Anyways, I'm giving you the greatest gift I have ever given... my Rinnegan."

"Nani?!" Naruto shouted in surprise.

"You shouldn't be shocked, after all, you were my only student, and a promising one at that. You show a lot of potential... to become the greatest shinobi that ever existed. You, Uzumaki Naruto, are the Child Of The Prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Naruto and Yugito asked simultaneously.

"Once, the grand toad elder of Myobokuzan told a prophecy to the Toad Sage, Jiraiya. He said that one day, Jiraiya would have a student who would have enough power to change the world - for the better or the worse. I was a student of Jiraiya, and I had power to change the world... but I didn't. So right now, I'm handing my eyes to you so you can carry on my wish."

"But... I'm not a student of Jiraiya," Naruto exclaimed.

Smirking, the reply came, "Oh... you will. Now, will Konan-chan do the honours?"

Papers started fluttering, and when they stopped, Konan emerged. "Hai, Nagato-kun."

"Some last words... Konan-chan, I love you. And Naruto-kun? You sure know how to pick them." Both blondes in the room blushed, while Konan's face turned solemn.

"Goodbye, Nagato-kun," she muttered as her fingers became coated with chakra. Reaching for his eyes, she extracted them with a deft grasp, and placed them in a storage jar. "You ready, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded, and laid on the floor. She let him drink a concoction, and he fell asleep. Doing the same thing with Naruto's eyes, she then replaced them with the Rinnegan.

"The eyes will take a while to be incorporated into his system, but it should take a few hours only, because Nagato was his distant uncle." Konan said to Yugito, and left with Nagato's body wrapped in papers.

Yugito tended to him for the next hour, and after the second one, he woke up. "This vision... so clear..." Then he recalled what happened. "Nagato-sensei!"

Rushing to the mirror, he realised what had transpired in the past hours. "Konan-san said you needed some rest... and I suggest a Henge to hide your Rinnegan." Yugito voiced.

"Alright... Henge!" Naruto shouted, but the Rinnegan still remained there. Kurama facepalmed. "Naruto-kun, try channeling chakra to your eyes."

He did so, and the Rinnegan faded away, morphing into his normal cerulean eyes. Repeating the process, his blue irises expanded, then the colour faded into purple. "Cool!"

Doing it once again, he walked back to Yugito. "Apparently, the Henge doesn't work with dojutsu."

Yugito sighed, "I bet you're gonna get all excited and start training with your new eyes... right?"

"You bet, Yugito-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, and Yugito rolled her eyes. "Naruto-koi, I suggest going now. Anyway your missions start tomorrow right?"

"Hai, Yugito-hime," Naruto answered with a cheeky grin, and said, "See you later!"

The Next Day

Naruto left the house with a Shunshin, and arrived to find that Kakashi was actually on time.

"Let's go to the Hokage's office," Kakashi instructed Team 7, and they scattered.

Upon arriving, the Hokage opened a scroll, and said, "Team 7. First D-rank, eh? Well, the mission is to catch Tora."

"Wait, we get to catch a tiger, Hokage-jiji? Sounds like fun!" Naruto commented enthusiastically. Meanwhile, the rest of Team 7 thought about how rude Naruto was, while Kakashi just raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"Tora... the cat of the Daimyo's wife," the Sandaime elaborated. The whole of Team 7 facepalmed.

Kakashi said, "Welcome to the wonderful world of D-ranks."

Author's Notes:  
Well, sorry for the lateness, but I've decided to post one chapter every other day instead of daily. Quantity over quality, I suppose, as I do not wish to write any quote "half-ass shit" unquote. As for the story itself, hope you guys don't mind if he gets the Rinnegan, I know some of you were excited. Regarding the special edition, no one asked me any questions, but the thing is still pending. Refer to chapter 9 for the special edition details. Do you guys think I should write a lemon? If you do, it'll still take a while before it happens because their relationship still needs to be developed - they just started.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	11. Chapter 11

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 11: The Mission To Wave

Previously:  
Kakashi said, "Welcome to the wonderful world of D-ranks."

After another useless week of D-ranks, Naruto was pissed. "Hokage-jiji, we can't have another D-rank!"

The Sandaime sighed, he knew this would happen sooner or later, so he opened another cabinet labeled "C-ranks" and pulled out a scroll.

"Let's see... Mission To Wave... your objective is to protect Tazuna the bridge builder."

"Alright! Finally a real mission!" exclaimed Naruto, which caused the other members of the team to smile, though Sasuke just released a "hmph" sound.

"Send him in," the Hokage ordered, and an old man wearing a straw hat stepped into the room. "I asked for a bunch of shinobi, not a couple of brats. Though the silver-haired one and the blonde one look reliable."

Kakashi gave his famous eye smile and Naruto grinned, while Sakura screeched and Sasuke fumed.

"I, an Uchiha elite, am unreliable? Worse, the dobe is reliable? This man wants to get killed," Sasuke seethed in thought.

"Let's get going then! Meet at the North Gate in half an hour with your supplies," Kakashi said, and body flickered away. Naruto shrugged, and did the same, while the others left by the conventional way - the door.

Leaving a note on the table for Yugito to explain his extended absence, he left the house for the North Gate.

Arriving there, Sakura immediately yelled, "Kakashi-sensei said "with your supplies"! Where are they, teme?!", causing everyone around to wince.

Sliding up his sleeves, he revealed multiple tattoos on his arm. Or so she thought. Up on the branch of a high tree, Kakashi's eyes widened. Storage seals?

"These storage seals allow me to store my stuff, well duh," Naruto explained.

At the side, the Uchiha raged internally. "If anyone should have those, it should be me! An Uchiha elite!"

"Dobe, I demand you make me some storage seals, now," Sasuke ordered. "Oh? What's gonna make me?" Naruto retorted.

"Now, now, don't fight in front our client. Let's leave," Kakashi said as he slipped off the branch and landed on the ground.

After an hour's journey out of Konoha, they walked past a puddle of water. "Strange, it has not been raining for quite a while now..." Kakashi thought, and when he glanced at Naruto, he nodded, so he knew he was thinking the same.

Suddenly, ninja wire with spikes shot out of the trees surrounding the route to Nami no Kuni. Wrapping around Kakashi, they were pulled, and he was reduced to pile of sliced flesh.

Emerging from the treeline, the Demon Brothers, as Naruto remembered from the Bingo Book, demanded, "Hand over the bridge builder, and we will not harm you."

"Ha, as if," Naruto scoffed, "He's going with us." The Demon Brothers laughed and attacked Team 7.

"Sakura, stay with Tazuna!" Naruto shouted, and engaged the Demon Brothers in taijutsu. Out of the blue, they produced blades dripping with a purplish liquid, most likely poison. Stabbing Naruto with one of them, they tried to do the same on Sasuke, only to get kicked back. Using a fire jutsu, Sasuke eliminated one of them.

Naruto thought, "Time to test this out." Last week, Naruto found a scroll on his bed about the power of the Rinnegan, probably something that Nagato left for him and Konan passed over. He had a lot of time to train, considering the D-ranks over the past week.

Channeling chakra to his eyes, the Rinnegan activated. He did a high kick and sent the other Demon Brother flying upwards, while he jumped high above him. "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!" he whispered. An overwhelming force came over the poor dude, it felt like a tsunami from above pushing him towards the ground.

"Bansho Tenin (Universal Pull)," he said, and the guy went flying back up. "Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, and slammed it into him. The Demon Brothers were officially no more.

A clapping sound was heard, and Kakashi came out of the forest. "Good job."

Sakura stuttered, "But Kakashi-sensei, they... they-"

"Kawamiri no Jutsu" Naruto said, and when Sakura glanced at Kakashi's "corpse", there was, indeed, slices of planks.

"Tazuna-san, there's something you need to tell us I believe?" Kakashi enquired, frowning.

"Yes... right now the tyrant Gato is terrorising our country. However, if I finish the bridge, our land will be connected to the ours, leading to prosperity. Of course, Gato doesn't want that, so he sent shinobi after us."

"This is a C-rank turned A-rank mission, are you all sure you want to continue? You can choose not to," Kakashi asked his team seriously.

"Who cares? Now that we've gone to the trouble of travelling so far, we might as well just carry on with the mission," Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded, obviously not wanting to be outdone by the blonde. Sakura just followed her crush, and agreed.

"I see. We've reached a consensus, so we shall continue with the mission. But we expect full payment when your country is rich again, Tazuna-san," Kakashi announced, while the last sentence was directed at the bridge builder.

"I understand. Arigato, Konoha-nin,"

The group carried on with their trip, and on the border, Kakashi met yet another weird sight - a white rabbit. "It's summer, yet it has a winter coat, something is wrong," Kakashi thought, then shouted, "Everybody duck!"

The whole lot dropped to the ground as a giant cleaver-like sword flew at their head level and ended up cutting into a tree trunk. "That's... the Kubikiri Bocho! Momochi Zabuza, Demon Of The Mist, A-rank, formerly from the Seven Swordsmen Of The Mist," Kakashi recited, having memorised his entry as part of his ANBU training.

"Sharingan no Kakashi... now I see why the Demon Brothers weren't able to take Tazuna... I'll do it then!" Zabuza shouted. He was dressed in black camouflage pants, while wearing a white, bandaged version of Kakashi's face mask. His hitaite faced in another direction, unlike most nukenin who kept their hitaites facing the front with a slash across their metal plates, signalling their lack of allegiance to a village.

Kakashi grimaced, and slided his hitaite such that it uncovered his left eye - the cursed Sharingan.

"So early... let's begin shall we!" Zabuza said with a maniacal laugh and tossed dozens of shuriken at Team 7. Grabbing a kunai, Kakashi deflected them, though his reflexes were obviously augmented by the Sharingan.

Naruto ordered, "Sakura, stay with the old man! Sasuke you're with me!" Sasuke agreed, after all, there was not much Sakura could do here.

The killing intent of Zabuza flooded through the area, which was situated near a giant lake because it was at the border of the Land Of Fire and Wave Country. Sasuke started choking, and held a kunai to his throat. "The killing intent of a jonin... perhaps I should end it, saves me from the pain." Naruto, of course, was having no problem due to the Kyuubi.

Kakashi said, "Sasuke put down your kunai, I have no intention of letting any of you get killed here."

Zabuza shouted, "Enough with the crap! Kirigakure no Jutsu (Mist Hiding Jutsu)!" Mist flooded the area, and Zabuza stalked to the area where Kakashi was. Immediately, Kakashi turned back and slashed in the midsection, only for "him" to burst into water.

"Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)?" The real Zabuza emerged, and bisected Kakashi with the Kubikiri Bocho. Kakashi, however, burst into water as well, the original behind him with the Sharingan spinning and glowing. "He... copied my jutsu?" Zabuza thought, and dived into the lake.

"Now, where's he?" Kakashi thought, and stepped onto the water with chakra. "Shit!" he said, as the water bubbled and Zabuza shouted, "Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu)!" Water around Kakashi swirled and formed a bubble-like contraption, trapping Kakashi within.

Naruto thought fast, he would have to remove the hand that Zabuza was sticking into the water prison in order to maintain it (Zabuza, not Naruto). Concentrating, chakra flowed to his eyes.

The blue portions of his eyes expanded, then faded into purple, and concentric rings rippled from his iris. Using his fine chakra control from tree climbing and water walking exercises, he focused the gravitational force into the size of a palm, and aiming at Zabuza's hand, he whispered, "Shinra Tensei."

The force was like a bullet, less impact and more pressure. Over the week, Naruto had learned how to control the size of his pushing force.

Hitting his hand directly, Zabuza swung his hand back uncontrollably, breaking the water prison. Kakashi was shocked, as a Sharingan user, he could hardly keep track of a Rinnegan user's moves, so he didn't know what happened, or the fact that Naruto had the Rinnegan in the first place.

Quickly stepping aside, Zabuza started flashing through many hand seals. Kakashi's Sharingan started spinning again, and he began copying the hand seals at the same rate. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognised the jutsu - after all, there was only one with so many hand seals. He finished his hand seals: Tiger, Hare, Boar, Dog, just as they finished theirs. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" both Kakashi and Zabuza yelled, while Naruto shouted, "Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Style: Earth Wall)!" Their water dragons clashed in mid air, causing the whole shore to flood.

Luckily, Naruto's earth wall covered the rest of Team 7 as the water rushed towards them. Zabuza smirked, and taunted, "You can't defeat me! You can only copy, like a monkey!"

"Hmph, don't underestimate monkeys," Kakashi retorted, referring to the Hokage.

Entering a another set of hand seals, Zabuza was about to call out his jutsu when Kakashi shouted, "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Style: Giant Waterfall Jutsu)!", much to his horror. "He... He did it faster than me?"

Water picked up around Kakashi in a vortex shape, and shot toward Zabuza, who was too shocked to counter and was blasted square in the chest.

"You can see the future?" Zabuza asked fearfully, now witnessing the prowess of the accursed kekkei genkai first hand.

"I can... and your future... is death!"

Author's Notes: Despite me saying that I will post every other day, which means I should be posting tomorrow, that is just the maximum time frame, so I can post in advance if I like. It has been exactly a week since I first posted this story, and currently, there are exactly 8000 views! Thank you for the support.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	12. Chapter 12

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 12: The Battle At The Great Naruto Bridge

Previously:  
"I can... and your future... is death!"

Kakashi charged forward with a kunai, prepared to end the battle. Suddenly, two senbon flew and pierced the neck of Zabuza, causing him to drop to the floor, dead.

A masked Kiri hunter-nin dropped from a tree, and landed next to Zabuza. "Arigato, Konoha-nin, I've been tracking him for hours. You've weakened him, allowing me to deal with him." He then left via Kiri Shunshin with his body, and Team 7 sighed.

"Tazuna-san, there should be no more other shinobi here to attack us; lead the way to your house," Kakashi said, before Tazuna nodded and continued on their journey.

After reaching their house, his daughter, Tsunami, greeted them, and gave them guest rooms. Upon settling down, Kakashi had to rest for a while due to chakra exhaustion. Naruto told Kakashi, "I'll be training nearby."

Leaving the house for the nearby forests, he thought, "I have to learn how to increase my control of the gravitational forces."

"Bansho Tenin," he said after activating the Rinnegan, while focusing on a tree. It started warping towards him. Flying towards him, he willed it to stop, but let it float. "Shinra Tensei," he muttered, and the trunk flew backwards.

He repeated this for three hours, until he could pull and push the log without stopping. "Bansho Tenin!" A nearby tree was sucked towards him, and just before it hit him, "Shinra Tensei!" The trunk immediately changed course, and flew back to the stump.

Deactivating the Rinnegan, he proceeded to practice jutsu. After all, he couldn't focus too much on his Rinnegan. Wait... now that he thought about it, he could use all the elements.

Therefore, he set about learning the basics of his new elements, though he wouldn't be using them as much as the original ones because obviously, he possessed a higher affinity for wind, earth and water. Additionally, he could only use lightning and fire when the Rinnegan was activated.

It was late in the evening when Naruto returned to the house, just in time for dinner. Kakashi had woken up, and took the rest of Team 7 chakra control exercises.

"Kakashi-sensei, now that I think about it, that hunter-nin seemed... suspicious," Naruto voiced at the table, just as Kakashi was about to speak.

"This kid... thinks a lot like me," Kakashi thought, then replied, "Hai, the usual procedure is for the hunter-nin to behead the body, burn what's left and leave with the head to collect bounty. In fact, now that I think about it, he only used senbon, and those are not enough to kill."

"So you mean, the hunter-nin was his accomplice, and he's still alive?" Sakura completed his train of thought.

"Exactly. We've got one week tops to train before another confrontation," Kakashi explained, and after that, the dinner settled into a comfortable silence.

Suddenly, Tazuna's grandson, Inari burst into tears. "What do you Leaf ninja know about suffering?! I bet you've spent the years in comfort, while everyday, we fear for our lives in the hands of Gato's men!"

"Oi, kid, you don't know what you're talking about. Do you know the pain of having no family at all? Of being treated like a demon in your own village?" Naruto demanded, his anger rising. But then, his features relaxed at the thought of Yugito. "However, this pain can be eased when you have precious people. Like your mum and your grandfather. When you have precious people, you must protect them with your life, for they are the reason of your existence. For example, if it weren't for my lover, I would have committed suicide long ago."

Inari at this moment, decided go to his bedroom to ponder about what he said. Meanwhile, Sasuke, with his selective hearing, seethed at the thought of Naruto having a lover. "How could someone love a clanless dobe like him? If they should love anyone, it should be me, an Uchiha elite. Not that I want to love anyone, attachments make me weak."

"I'm going to train," Naruto declared as he put his dishes in the sink and left the house.

Throwing jutsu after jutsu, he only stopped after about fifty. Such was his stamina. Charging his chakra, he was about to do another fifty when he heard a clapping sound.

Turning around, he saw Kakashi walking over, Icha Icha in hand. "I was surprised you could do so many jutsu... much less without stopping," he commented, "Though I was surprised to learn you could use three elements. Most genin don't even know elemental jutsu, and even if they do, they only do it for one."

Naruto released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "He doesn't know about the other two elements, or the Rinnegan yet, phew..." Naruto thought.

"Kakashi-sensei, I know you have four elements, so can you teach me some high-ranking water and earth ninjutsu?" Naruto requested, and Kakashi's eye widened. "First... the water dragon jutsu-"

"I already know that one," he interrupted. "Oh? Show me," Kakashi said as he flashed through the hand seals in twelve seconds (that's the time I take to the hands seals).

Naruto shrugged, and finished it within five seconds. "Incredible... to think he possesses such a high speed for hand seals," Kakashi mused.

"So? What's next?"

"Hmm... right now, I can't really think of any high-ranking water jutsu... though I think you could ask Kushina-san, the Uzumaki were famous for their suiton jutsu. " Kakashi suggested, though the second part was a low whisper.

"Actually, there are not many high-ranking water and earth ninjutsu, considering that earth is a defensive element while water is neutral, mainly used for augmenting lightning jutsu," Kakashi continued. Naruto nodded, and continued throwing wind attacks at the nearby trees, occasionally slashing them with a water whip or piercing them with earth spikes.

"Well, ja ne," Kakashi left, one hand waving while the other was holding on to that perverted piece of literature.

The Next Morning

A girl wearing a pink dress and black choker entered a clearing, holding a basket full of herbs. She spotted slash marks on the trees in the vicinity, and some stumps.

Then, she saw a ninja in the middle of it all, sleeping soundly. Thoughts flashed through her mind rapidly. "This is one of the Konoha-nin from yesterday... should I... no, never mind," she pondered while her hand poised over his neck. Then she moved it to his collar, and just as she was about to shake him awake, he said, "I know you're there."

Naruto opened his eyes to find a girl grabbing his collar. Blushing, she let go, and said, "What are you doing here on an early morning, shinobi-san?"

"I could say the same," Naruto redirected the question, to which she replied, "My name is Haku, I'm plucking herbs to heal my friend."

"Oh? You have precious people, then?" Naruto cocked his head, this girl had piqued his interest. "Hai, this is my only precious person. I believe that only when one has a precious person, then one has a purpose and this can make one stronger."

"Well said! In fact we think quite alike! I'm Naruto, it was a pleasure to meet you," Naruto exclaimed, surprised to find that someone else actually shared his mentality. "Right. I've to go now, Naruto-san. Till we meet again."

"And by the way, I'm a boy," he said as he left the clearing. Naruto facepalmed. Haku was a boy... was he gay? He immediately shaked off the thought, he couldn't insult the first person he met who shared his mentality. He was probably just androgynous... right.

Naruto body flickered back to the house. "Ohayo!" he shouted as he entered. After breakfast, he continued training.

Back in Konoha, a certain feline kunoichi just entered Naruto's apartment, returning from her mission. A shout ensued as a certain note was read.

One Week Later

Tazuna and Team 7 arrived at the bridge, just in time to see all the workers injured, and some dead. A thick fog covered the area, but Naruto could tell that it was laced with chakra.

"Well, well, if isn't the Konoha brats..." Zabuza said while stepping out with his accomplice.

"You..." Kakashi growled, "Sakura, you're in charge of the old man. Naruto and Sasuke, you guys are up against the hunter-nin. I'll take care of Zabuza myself."

"Let's go!" Naruto and Sasuke rushed forward to the hunter-nin, who began engaging them in taijutsu. He was quick, though he couldn't match Naruto's speed. Flipping back, he formed one-handed hand seals.

Kakashi's Sharingan widened, one-handed hand seals? Even he hadn't seen them before. "Beware... Hyoton: Makyo Hyosho (Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors)!" Ice started forming in a the shape of a mirror in front of him, and then multiple mirrors started forming, resulting in a house-like shape.

In every mirror, there were multiple copies of the hunter-nin. Or so it seemed to Sasuke, who tried breaking the mirrors and throwing fire jutsu at them, though to no avail. To Naruto, who had activated his Rinnegan, he could track his movements, so he knew that it was only one hunter-nin, but he was moving so fast that it looked like there were many.

The hunter-nin began firing senbon at the pair, which Naruto deflected with his kunai. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Multiple clones appeared, and they started throwing themselves at the mirror, hoping to catch the hunter-nin while he was inside one of the mirrors.

He threw senbon at the clones, causing them to dispel while doing the same to Sasuke, seeing as how he couldn't get to Naruto. Although he deflected most of them with a kunai, some made their way to his pressure points, making him collapse into the concrete floor.

Naruto growled. "Shinra Tensei!" he shouted, not bothering to focus on a point but instead pushed the chakra out like a wave. The mirrors simply did not stand a chance against the Rinnegan's prowess. They shattered, leaving the hunter-nin vulnerable. Not missing his chance, Naruto punched him in the face, sending him flying back ten meters.

The hunter-nin's mask broke, revealing a very sad Haku to Naruto who was about to finish him. "Why? Why do you serve such a man?!" Naruto asked, outraged.

"I'm his tool... because when no one wanted me, he gave me a purpose. But now, I'm a broken tool... so please... I beg you... kill me now. I am no longer of use to my master." Haku explained with a shaky breath.

Moments Ago

When the mirrors shattered, Kakashi immediately thought, "Is that the Kyuubi? The seal must be weakening, I need to end this quick." Despite being in his landscape before, he did not know about Naruto's friendship with the Kyuubi.

Opening a breast pocket on his flak jacket, he withdrew a scroll, and snapped it open. With one fluid motion, he swiped his thumb under one of the bottomless pockets which held a kunai, drawing blood. He spread the blood in a line along the center of the scroll, and did a pirouette while twirling the scroll.

Then sealing the scroll, he placed it between his thumbs and index fingers and formed the hand seals: Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Dog. Slamming the scroll on the floor, he shouted, "Ninpo: Kuchiyose, Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Summoning, Earth Style: Fang Pursuit Jutsu)!" Little lines started coming out from the side of the scroll, and they headed towards Zabuza.

When the lines reached his spot, they burst out of the ground in a flurry of smoke, revealing Kakashi's ninken. They bit Zabuza and held him down. "You're the only one who had the privilege of seeing my Sharingan twice... and now, you won't be seeing it again, or anything for that matter," Kakashi said, and knitted his hands into three forms: Ox, Rabbit, Monkey. A circle of his chakra started forming around him, and it crackled with lightning. The raiton chakra began jumping, and they reached Kakashi's hands, creating a ball of lightning chakra.

The ball became bigger and bigger, and louder and louder. Sliding his hands down, he shouted, "Raikiri (Lightning Blade)!" Charging towards Zabuza, his Sharingan spun as his target came closer... Zabuza's heart.

It was at this moment that Haku decided, "Wait, don't kill me yet, I still have a final use for my master." Forming an ice mirror below him and one above the spot in front of Zabuza, he dropped in and like a portal, ended up on the other side.

By the time Kakashi realised what had transpired, it was too late. The Raikiri went straight through Haku's heart, and blood poured onto the floor as his arteries continued pumping... for a while.

"Looks like I found a useful tool..." Zabuza smiled satisfied with his sacrifice.

"Was it all he ever was to you? A tool?" Naruto raged.

A loud clapping sound echoed across the bridge. "Looks like you can't even take down a few shinobi. In fact, you've even been beaten by a few Konoha-nin. That's good anyway, because I never intended to pay you." Zabuza turned back, and saw the man whom he hated the most now - Gato.

Author's Notes:  
Well, tomorrow (I won't put what day because fan fiction is international) I'll be gone for a three day camp, and the day after the last day of the camp, I'll be gone for a three day holiday. On all these days, it's either a) the camp: no electronic devices or b) the holiday: no Wi-Fi, so I'll not be posting for at least a week. Which is why I made this chapter longer than average.

Until tomorrow (or next week),  
Ja Ne


	13. Chapter 13

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 13: The Return To The Leaf

Previously:  
Zabuza turned back, and saw the man whom he hated the most now - Gato.

"Why you..." Zabuza growled, clearly displeased about his betrayal. "Sharingan no Kakashi... for now let's call it a truce, I want to kill this man."

Planting a kunai in his mouth, he rushed at Gato and his men. Gato, scared out of his wits, ran to the end of the unfinished bridge, protected by his burly men.

"Let's go!" Zabuza shouted and slashed his way through the crowd with his kunai and Kubikiri Bocho. Easily decimating the henchmen, he reached Gato despite suffering severe injuries.  
Gato backed off in fear, he had just seen the Demon Of The Mist slaughter all of his lackeys. "No... don't kill me... I'll pay you!"

A low laughing sound came out from Zabuza's mouth. "You won't buy me this time... and not forever," he shouted, and grabbing his cleaver, bisected the tyrant. Gato - or his corpse - flew back and dropped into the depths of the water below.

Zabuza collapsed onto one knee, and turned to Team 7, "My time is up... thank you, blonde brat, you've let me see that Haku was more than just a tool... though I hope that I can be in heaven with Haku... I know that's not possible. So my last wish is to be buried... with Haku."

"Of course," Naruto said solemnly. Kakashi sighed and replaced his hitaite. "Looks like we're done here."

Looking back, they saw Sakura trying to revive a "dead" Sasuke. Groaning he sat up, only to wince in pain due to the senbons still stuck in him. "Sasuke-kun, you're alive!" Sakura said, smiling.

"Hmph, of course. Did you think that the hunter-nin could ever get to me, an Uchiha elite?" Sasuke smirked, though he was still smarting from the pain.

"Arrogant prick, he would have killed you if he wanted to, but he was against unnecessary killing. He just put you in a near-death state," Naruto defended his friend after a bit of observation.

"Ok, let's head back to the house. After grabbing your stuff, meet me at the doorstep," Kakashi ordered.

"Yes sir!" Team 7 scattered, and five minutes later, they met again. They then proceeded to help out with the building through shadow clones or manual labour.

"Bye, Konoha-nin! And thank you for killing the tyrant," Tazuna said, and Tsunami thanked them as well.

"Naruto-niisan, thanks for your speech, I now finally understand the importance of my family," Inari spoke up, while hugging his grandfather and mother.

"Wow, didn't think I would get to you that fast," Naruto commented, and with that, they left the house for the bridge - which was completed and about to be named. The whole village was gathered, and they were thinking about what name they should give.

"How about the Super Tazuna Bridge?" the bridge builder suggested. Everyone groaned, and the family sweatdropped.

Tsunami said, "How about the Great Naruto Bridge?" After as bit of muttering, the village cheered, and displayed their assent. "The Great Naruto Bridge it is!" Tazuna announced, and everyone applauded.

Naruto gave his famous smile, while Sasuke fumed - as usual. "Great, now he's got a freakin' bridge named after him? It should be the Ultimate Uchiha Bridge! That bastard-"

"Teme, let's leave!" Naruto shouted, and sprinted across the bridge to the border of Hi no Kuni. Kakashi was just right behind him, while Sakura was struggling to catch up.

Sasuke scowled, and followed suit. Five hours of travel later, a deadbeat Sakura, seething Sasuke, enthusiastic Naruto and a calm Kakashi arrived at the Konoha Gates.

The Eternal Guards, as they were dubbed, Izumo and Kotetsu cleared them through without much hassle, despite being surprised to learn that it was a C-rank turned A-rank mission.

Reporting at the Hokage's office, they all greeted, "Hokage-sama!" Well except for Naruto who went with his usual "Hokage-jiji".

"Report!" Came the voice of the Sandaime, and Kakashi explained everything that had transpired within the time that they were gone from the Leaf.

"I see... so we shall collect payment after they become rich," the Hokage pondered, "Ok, all of you can leave except for Naruto."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Leaving the blonde, they went out of the door. "Ne, Jiji, what did you want?"

"I've heard from Kakashi that there were various "miracles" happening within the mission, like how he escaped Zabuza's water prison," Hiruzen explained, "And he said that he could feel this... aura of power from you at that time. So please explain."

"Shit," Naruto thought, "I think I should counter-ask him." "Good idea, tell him that you will only explain after he tells you who your parents are," Kurama suggested.

"Jiji, I will explain, but first I want you to tell me who my parents were." The Hokage sighed, and replied, "I'm afraid I can't tell you Naruto-kun."

Naruto smirked, "And why not?" "I have told you before, your parents had many enemies, it would be unsafe to reveal their identity until you become a chunin."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and two clones burst into existence. Each forming the Ram hand seal, they yelled, "Henge!"

A poof of smoke later, and the smiling visage of Minato and Kushina appeared. The ANBU above the roof were shocked to see their old Hokage, while the Sandaime's jaw was trying to keep off the floor.

"He... he knew?!" Hiruzen thought. "Jiji, why so surprised? If you studied the seal close enough, you'll realise that it seals part of their souls into me. Come on, I've got something to show you."

Placing his hands on the Hokage's shoulders - which caused the ANBU to flinch, he said, "Clear your mind."

Not being the Professor for nothing, the Sandaime was soon pulled into Naruto's mindscape. He was awed at the sheer amount of effort Naruto put in to make this place.

"See that house? Let's go to the doorstep," Naruto said, and they both arrived there via Shunshin. Knocking on the door, Kushina answered, though the Hokage was not really surprised considering what the blonde said earlier about the soul seal. "What a surprise, Hokage-dono!" Kushina greeted, and Minato arrived at the door.

"What are you doing here, Hiruzen-daisensei?" Minato asked his predecessor and grandmaster.

"Tou-san, I'm showing him around," Naruto said and displayed his Rasengan to the Sandaime who was shocked. "Did you say you took... two days to master the Rasengan? And to think Minato-kun took three years to create and master it!"

"Tou-san was creating it, and no one was there to guide him, unlike me," Naruto tried to reason and push the credit back to his father who was relieved.

"At this rate... I'll give you these," Minato said, and retrieved a scroll from his pocket. "You have to perform a certain set of hand seals with the scroll in order to unseal the contents, so take it as an extra challenge."

Taking the scroll from him, Naruto replied, "Thank you, tou-san. Now I have to take Hokage-jiji to see my tenant." His parents nodded knowingly while Hiruzen just seemed puzzled.

"Follow me," Naruto instructed, and brought him to the edge of the waterfall. Grabbing him, Naruto pulled both of them into the lake below.

"Ne, Kurama-chan, I'm here," Naruto called out, and the Sandaime thought, "Kurama-chan? Who's that?"

The water curtain parted, and a lady in an orange singlet and blue skirt stepped out. While Hiruzen managed to hold in his nosebleed, he questioned, "Who is this, Naruto-kun?"

The lady laughed, and a bright light started emitting from her body. The bright shape transformed, and when it died down, the Kyuubi was revealed.

"The Kyuubi no Yoko..." The Hokage was speechless. Transforming back into her original shape, she sat down in the middle of the lake and water began swirling around her.

Activating his Rinnegan, Naruto saw greenish chakra flowing into her coils. "Natural energy, huh?"

The Hokage looked into the lake, and saw Naruto's reflection - more importantly, his eyes. "Hai, Hokage-jiji, I possess the power of the Rinnegan."

The Sandaime was just shocked beyond shock. How much did he not know about his grandson figure? "Just to demonstrate - Kurama-chan, throw a fireball at me," Naruto said, and she nodded. Fire chakra gathered into a big ball near her mouth, and she fired it at him. "Shinra Tensei!"

An invisible wave shot forth from his palms, deflecting the fireball back to Kurama. Then he jumped in front of her and shouted, "Gakido: Fujutsu Kyuin (Preta Path: Jutsu Absorption)!" A circle of energy enveloped him, and the moment the fireball hit the orb, it started getting sucked into Naruto's palms, replenishing his chakra.

"Impressive..." The Hokage mused. Naruto winked at Kurama, who over the past week, had been teaching him about the abilities of her old man's eyes. "Hokage-jiji, the only thing I request is for confidentiality."

"Of course," the Sandaime agreed, "But please tell me if there are such things in the future." Soon, he was pulled back into the real world.

"You're dismissed."

Forming the Seal Of Confrontation, he left with a Shunshin - though it was not a Leaf Shunshin. An image of Naruto in a suit of shining gold armour appeared, followed by him with many weapons of all kinds, then him as normal. Next, he transformed into a fox, then him in a very malnourished body, and lastly, as an ethereal figure with a book and brush. With a silverish light, he was gone.

"Rinne Shunshin" Naruto's voice echoed in the room. Returning home, he opened the fridge for a ramen cup. Just as he was about to put it down on the table, he was tackled to the floor by a crying Yugito.

For the next five minutes, an intense make out session ensued. After having to stop for air, Yugito demanded, "I want the details. Now."

Sighing, Naruto explained the whole mission. "C-rank turned A-rank? I'm glad you're still alive!" Yugito shouted.

"You don't trust your boyfriend's abilities?" Naruto asked, giving a mock hurt expression. They laughed.

"Alright, I guess you should rest for the afternoon after lunch," Yugito said, making a look that told him that it was an order.

After a sumptuous ramen meal, he took a bath. Then sleeping for the next five hours, he woke up to a weight on his chest - Yugito's head. Gently replacing her head on the pillow, he decided to leave the house for a training ground. He heard a moaning sound just before leaving by Rinne Shunshin that said, "Pillow... don't go". He smirked.

"Right, Kurama-chan, any new abilities you want to teach me?" Naruto thought.

"Hai, I will teach you the Yin and Yang Styles. The Yin Style is all about creating the form of things. For example, the Nara clan's Shadow Manipulation is actually a use of Yin chakra to create the shadows. In fact, almost all non-elemental jutsus use Yin Chakra, like genjutsu. Next, as for Yang Style, it gives forms life and vitality, basically things like medical ninjutsu require Yang chakra to accelerate a cell's healing rate."

"But when one uses both, and only Rinnegan users can, they can create the Yin-Yang Style, which creates form and gives life to it. There is only one technique in existence, and it is the most powerful tool. The Banbutsu Sozo, or the Creation Of All Things, is a result of breathing life with Yang chakra into forms created with Yin chakra. Now, you have to note that Yin chakra is just a lot of physical energy and a bit of spiritual energy. Meanwhile, Yang chakra is vice versa. Try it now," Kurama replied.

Naruto began to try moulding Yin chakra. He forced physical energy into his coils, and then tried adding a bit of spiritual energy. His body tried to put in more spiritual energy to equalise the equation and mould chakra. After all, that was the usual process.

But then he endured long enough, and was rewarded with the sight of his body cloaked in black chakra. "Let's see... how about creating a bird?" He manifested the Yin chakra into the shape of a pigeon with the administration of his imagination. The pigeon appeared, colour and everything, but it might as well have been a statue.

Now, he decided to remove the Yin chakra. "Alright, let's try Yang chakra." Meditating a bit, he placed spiritual energy into his coils. Then placing just a tiny bit of physical energy, he felt the urge to put in more.

Gritting his teeth, a cloak of whitish chakra surrounded him. Then he pushed Yang chakra into the bird statue. The pigeon came to life, and flew away.

"Ok, so that's it." Kurama said, "You've just utilised Yin and Yang Styles. Now, try doing both at once." Naruto grimaced, that had taken a lot of out of him. Wait... "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A clone burst into existence. "You make Yang chakra, I'll make Yin," Naruto ordered. After doing so, he tried putting their hands together. The white and black chakra began joining and forming a gray coloured one. "Ok now... a frog!"

The chakra changed into the shape of said animal, and it hopped away. "I did it, Kurama-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. The next few hours were spent on basic physical training.

Upon returning to the house, Yugito was already up and preparing dinner. When she saw Naruto, she pouted, causing him to almost die from cuteness overload.

"Dinner's almost ready, take a shower first," Yugito said, and Naruto complied. When he came out, the table was filled with plates of dishes of all kinds. There was also a candle on the center and the lights were dimmed.

"Take this as our first date." The dinner carried on in a comfortable silence, and the couple were generally just enjoying the other's presence. "Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"My mum... she's dead," Yugito replied sadly. "Oh... sorry," Naruto consoled.

After finishing dinner, both washed the dishes and retired to bed upon brushing teeth. "That was quite the first date," Naruto commented.

"Yeah, now get here pillow!" Yugito shouted playfully. Naruto laughed, and lay down on the bed. She rested her head on his chest, and that's how they remained for the rest of the night.

The Next Day

"Morning, beautiful," Naruto greeted as he rose. There was a knock on the door. Answering it, he found Kakashi with a letter in his hand. "Meet at Training Ground 7, I've got important news."

Naruto asked, "What news?"

Kakashi gave a simple reply, "Chunin Exams."

Author's Notes:  
I'm back from my three day camp and three day holiday with a chapter! This one was particularly long, my longest I think. So anyway, I received a review about "giving a chapter or receiving an ominous chidori" Firstly, writers have lives too. Secondly, what the hell is an "ominous chidori"? In fact, I was pretty tempted to not post this chapter just to find out what an "ominous chidori" was. Come to think of it, anything ending with "chidori" is probably not good for my health. Ok, enough ranting,

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	14. Chapter 14

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 14: Chunin Exams First Test

Previously:  
Kakashi gave a simple reply, "Chunin Exams."

"Ok... gotta go now, hime! Chunin Exams!" Naruto shouted to the bedroom.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Hime? Naruto and Kakashi body flickered to Training Ground 7, where Sasuke and Sakura were waiting. "Alright, as you all now know, I have nominated you people for the Chunin Exams. You can choose if you want to go or not, and if you do, report to Room 302 at the academy in a week's time at 8 a.m. sharp."

Naruto said, "Of course I'll go." Sasuke just agreed, he didn't want to still be a genin when Naruto became a chunin. Sakura, as usual, went with "her Sasuke-kun's" decision.

And so, for the next week, he spent everyday deep in training until Yugito called him back to the house. The first three days, he sought to perfect his taijutsu style by smoothing out the flaws. The next two days, Naruto practiced his ninjutsu and for the last two, his Rinnegan abilities.

It had been a rough week and Team 7 met at Training Ground 7 as planned earlier. "Let's go!" Naruto shouted, and they jumped through the trees to their old school.

After climbing a flight of stairs, they saw a sign proclaiming "Room 302". "Hmm... the first number of the room is based on what floor it is on, in this case, the third. We have only climbed one flight of stairs... so this must be a genjutsu to weed out the lousier ones... let me check," Naruto thought as he discreetly activated his Rinnegan with the crowd all focusing on two genin blocking the door.

The sign spun, and read "Room 202". The two "genin" were actually Izumo and Kotetsu. Then out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Sasuke opening his mouth in slow motion.

"Must be opening his trap about the genjutsu... need to get him to shut up quickly," Naruto thought. "Fuinjutsu: Boon Kabe (Fuinjutsu: Sound Barrier)," he whispered, and through his Rinnegan, witnessed as his chakra surrounded the unsuspecting Sasuke.

"Hmph! They think they can get us with such a simple genjutsu! My Sharingan can see through their crap!" Sasuke yelled, not knowing that only Naruto could hear him. He motioned for the rest of Team 7 to follow him while deactivating his Rinnegan.

Neji Hyuga and his team, the weapon specialist Tenten and the youth guy Lee, left with Team 7 as well. Naruto noticed his Byakugan, so he presumed that's how he figured it out.

At the third floor, Team 7 was greeted by the sight of Kakashi who eye smiled, saying, "Well, I'm glad you all made it."

Sakura responded, "What did you mean "you all"?" "If any of you were not to enter the exams with your other teammates, you all are barred from entering."

Naruto nodded, "Teamwork." "Well, wish you good luck with the first exam," Kakashi said, and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Entering Room 302, they noticed the other genin teams already there. When Hinata noticed him, she was shocked at first, thinking him dead. Then she looked down in embarrassment.

"So you're here, Naruto-koi," Yugito teased, "I thought you would never make it." Naruto laughed, "Hime, I have no need for the lack of confidence in my abilities. Oh, and by the way, fuinjutsu kai!"

The chakra enveloping Sasuke was removed, and he finally stared at Naruto. "Did you just-"

"Yep."

Sasuke stared at him. "You-" "Fuinjutsu: Boon Kabe," Naruto repeated, and once again Sasuke was falling on deaf ears.

Yugito snickered. Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino were bickering over Sasuke. Again. A silver-haired Konoha-nin walked to them and said, "I'd suggest keeping your volume down, you people do not want to be a target to those people."

Naruto looked around the room, and indeed, everyone was staring at them. "Who are you?" Naruto asked, "But as I'm the one asking, my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I have info on every genin here today, with these," he replied, and pulled out a deck of cards. "Just tell me who."

Naruto sensed a giant source of chakra and killing intent directed towards him from the middle of the room. His eyes landed on a redhead Suna-nin. "Him," Naruto pointed.

Picking up a card, words and a picture began surfacing on the blank face. "Sabaku no Gaara. Genin of Sunagakure, and the Yondaime Kazekage's youngest child. His team members are Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro, his siblings. He has completed 30 D-ranks and 13 C-ranks. Interesting to note, he has never been hurt. Ever."

"Oh dear," Kurama spoke up, "My insane brother, Shukaku, Ichibi no Tanuki." "So he's a jinchuuriki? No wonder," Naruto thought.

"I want your blood... Uzumaki, you will prove my existence!" Gaara shouted across the room.

"Ano... ohayo?" Naruto replied, causing everyone around him to burst into peals of laughter.

"Seriously? Good morning? Haha... Kabuto, I want to know about... haha... Uzumaki Naruto," Kiba requested while laughing.

"Fuinjutsu: Boon Kabe," Naruto whispered. "Kabuto, I would prefer to keep my information a secret..."

Looking at him, Kabuto nodded, and replaced the deck in his pocket.

"Fuinjutsu kai." Both Sasuke and Kabuto were un-muted, so Kabuto took the chance to speak, "This year sees the most number of Konoha teams, but look at the new village, Oto. They probably won't be much."

A few Oto-nin looked up at him, and charged forth with their weird gauntlets. Suddenly, Kabuto began to clutch his head in pain.

"What are they doing to him... wait... sound... that's why they are called Oto. So their gauntlets produce sound which distorts vision and causes pain," Naruto deduced.

He looked at Yugito, and she nodded, probably thinking the same.

"Alright, maggots! Sit down and shut up! The test will begin in a few minutes," a bald man stepped into the room. "I'm the proctor for the first test, Ibiki Morino, head of the Interrogation and Torture department in Konoha. You have one hour to finish the written test, after which, the tenth question will be given."

As multiple Konoha-nin handed out the papers, he continued, "Cheating will be seriously punished, if you are caught, it's over for you and your team. Ok, now that everyone has the papers, your time begins... now!"

Naruto flipped the page over, and briefly scanned through the questions. Those questions were meant for jonin, what the hell were they doing in a chunin test? Unless... this was a test of information gathering.

He smirked, by the looks of it, some people had yet to figure it out. Yugito was already scribbling away, well, his hime sure was a smart one.

He looked around secretly, and noticed some of the test takers were actually chunin. He noticed Sasuke with his Sharingan, lamely copying a chunin's hand motions with his pen.

The Hyuga cousins were using their Byakugan. So it seemed that everyone with a dojutsu was using them. Using the Bijuu plane, he got the answers from Matatabi and Kurama.

Fifty Minutes Later

"Alright, times up, maggots! Put your pens down before I break your hands," Ibiki shouted, causing the genin to wince. "Time for the tenth question. But first, you have an option to not take the question, and if you do, your whole team fails."

"Then of course we'd take the bloody question!" Kiba yelled. "However... if you get the question wrong, you can never retake the Chunin Exams. Ever," Ibiki declared with a sadistic smile.

Mutters began spreading through the room. Teams began leaving. Naruto bided his time till there were ten teams left.

Raising his hand he slammed it on the desk. "Of course we'd take the last question! If we don't have the courage to move on, we don't deserve to be chunin. Anyway, even if I fail this question, I'll still be the first genin to be the Hokage!"

Everyone in the room was inspired by his speech, and they remained in the room.

Looking around the room, he said, "No one else? In that case... you all pass."

The room was shocked. They almost yelled, "What the-" when a ball flew into the classroom, breaking the window. It unravelled, revealing a giant poster with four kunai at its corners, pinning the poster effectively.

Luckily, Ibiki had sidestepped instinctively, so he managed to narrowly avoid being a pincushion.

The poster read, "The sexy and single proctor of the second test, Mitarashi Anko". Said woman was grinning sadistically, just like Ibiki.

"Anko, you're early. Again," Ibiki commented from behind the poster.

"Aww, look at these maggots. I just wanted to... play with them... earlier, couldn't I?" Anko said seductively to Ibiki.

The genins in the room blushed, but Naruto knew for sure, play definitely didn't mean fun.

Author's Notes:  
Sorry for the late post, I was reading Jeffrey Archer's The Prodigal Daughter.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	15. Chapter 15

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 15: Chunin Exams Second Test

Previously:  
The genins in the room blushed, but Naruto knew for sure, play definitely didn't mean fun.

"Alright, I'm giving you all ten minutes to get to Training Ground 44, any team not there by then will be disqualified," Anko said, then body flickered away.

Grabbing his cat princess' hand, Naruto followed suit with a Rinne Shunshin. The snake lady was surprised to see the fox brat and the girl from Kumo.

"Early, eh? Most genin can't even do a Shunshin," Anko commented.

"You learn something new everyday," said Naruto. The other genin arrived, and when they did, she explained the rules, "Each team will get a scroll: Heaven or Earth. Your objective is to get the other scroll and make it to the tower in the middle of the forest within five days. You cannot open the scroll until then, and if any of your members are not present, you fail."

Everyone left to sign the waiver and receive their scrolls. After splitting into the ten different entrances, the green light was given.

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted, and Team 7 dashed into the forest, knowing they got an Earth scroll.

After finding a river, he urged Sasuke and Sakura to set up camp. "This is our best chance, in an hour we will break camp and reassemble somewhere else. For now, I'll go scouting."

Running around, Naruto found a high spot at the top of a tree. There were quite a few teams left... Neji's team, Yugito's team, Shikamaru's team, and even Kiba's team.

There were two Sound teams and one Kiri team left. It appeared, one of the Sound teams were approaching the camp at high speeds.

"Shit!" he muttered, and returned immediately, in time to hear a call of "Futon: Daitoppa!" Sasuke reacted with a Katon jutsu, so it was fine, until it was revealed that the person he had hit was a mud clone.

"The scent of snakes," Naruto thought, "Orochimaru! Show yourself!"

"I see... Naruto-kun, you are a bright one. But I'm here for Sasuke-kun..." the Snake Sannin hissed.

Team 7 briefly engaged him in taijutsu, Sasuke even activated his Sharingan. Team 7 could hold their own, but they needed extra power to beat him, even when Sasuke gained his second tomoe. "Time to up the game..." Naruto thought.

His blue irises expanded and warped into concentric rings with a purple hue. "Shinra Tensei!" Orochimaru was blown back without knowing what had happened.

"Orochimaru, you're going down! Bansho Tenin!" Orochimaru paled, he didn't know what was happening to him.

Natural energy sucked into a spiral, forming the formidable jutsu known as the-

"Rasengan!" Slamming it into his gut, the Snake Sannin laughed as he melted into mud.

"You almost got me but-" He didn't even have a chance to finish the sentence as another Rasengan was slammed into the real deal.

"How... could I be beaten by a mere genin..." Little did he know, Naruto was already bordering kage level. Suddenly, his neck extended and he bit Sasuke on the neck, leaving a marking behind.

"When you need power... come to me... Uchiha Sasuke," Orochimaru said before body flickering away to tend to his injuries.

Deactivating his Rinnegan, Naruto rushed forward to Sasuke. If you were wondering what Sakura was doing the whole time, she was just watching the whole scene in shock.

For the rest of the day, no one attacked them. But the next morning, an Oto team appeared.

"Looks we're in luck, Kin," a man said, referring to the state Team 7 was in - Sasuke unconscious, Naruto recuperating, and Sakura standing guard.

The girl identified as Kin said, "Let's get them, Zaku!" Raising their gauntlets, they fired off soundwaves... or tried to.

Naruto, having evaluated their skills earlier, set up a sound barrier around them. He feigned pain, and the Oto nin sneered.

Slowly, he inched his way to them before defeating them without much hassle. Seeing as they had a Heaven scroll, he carried Sasuke on his back and left for the tower with Sakura.

"Congratulations, you're the second team to make it after the Suna team," Iruka announced after Naruto unsealed the scrolls. "You all can rest for the next three days."

After Sakura left to her bunk, Naruto carried Sasuke to the Control Room. "Excuse me, I would like to speak to Anko."

"Yes, gaki, what did you want?" Anko asked, slightly annoyed.

"We encountered Orochimaru in-"

"What?!" Anko practically shrieked.

"Anyway, he bit Sasuke-teme, and now he has a curse seal on him, by the looks of it," Naruto said, "I would like to remove it from him."

"Are you crazy? Even I have it," Anko said, and revealed her curse seal.

"I'm a Level 15 Seal Master, and this is only a Level 8 Curse Seal. It appears that Orochimaru implants part of his soul into the seal, and when the user uses the seal's power, it makes them addicted to it, until Orochimaru takes full control of them."

Anko was shocked, the description was perfect. "I could help remove it from you, too."

"Of course!"

Anko led Naruto into a sealing room, and he placed the Uchiha on a square mat. Grabbing a brush from his storage seals, he began painting a seal array around him.

Lighting a few candles, he placed them around Sasuke and began forming hands seals.

"Juinjutsu: Kai!" Naruto yelled. The candles began burning at a faster pace, and the wax landed on the seal array, which glowed with power. The seal array began converging on Sasuke and crawled to the curse seal.

The three tomoe marking was surrounded by Naruto's seal array, and they formed a circle around it. The whole seal glowed, and the curse seal peeled off his skin.

"This hurts, but I wish he was conscious to feel it," Naruto said sadistically. "You sure you want to do it?"

"Well... I am sexually aroused by pain, so I guess... yes?" Anko replied.

Naruto repeated the process, and when the three left the room, all were free of curse seals.

Later that day, the other teams arrived one by one. When Yugito's team arrived, he planted a kiss on his lover's neck. "How about a date at 7 tonight, top floor?" Naruto suggested.

Smirking, she replied, "Be there or be square." He left for a training facility to practise some more jutsus.

In the room, he came across charts depicting basic jutsus, and the academy hand seals. "Wait... what if..."

Naruto withdrew a scroll from his attire, and threw it into the air with chakra. The ceiling was high, so it took about 10 seconds for it to fall back into Naruto's hands - which was all he needed. "Ne, Ushi, Tora, U, Tatsu, Mi, Uma, Hitsuji, Saru, Tori, Inu, E," he said while completing the hand seals according to the chart's given order.

After the Pig hand seal, he clasped the scroll between his palms. The lines along the scroll glowed, and it rolled wide open.

On the inner face was a seal array, a normal storage one in fact. The ink started shimmering, and produced a bright light.

When it died down, Naruto saw a set of ten oddly shaped kunais. They were three-pronged, like a fork, and their handles were anything but ordinary.

Unlike the usual leather bandage grip, the handles had wooden grips with a sealing formula inscribed upon each one.

Then he noticed a piece of paper next to them, titled "The Rules And Usage Of The Hiraishin".

He was shocked, was this his father's prized technique? Quickly scanning through the paper, he found that it outlined activation of the sealing formula, and ranges of use.

"Tou-san... are you sure about this?" he questioned. "Hai, I actually planned to give this technique to you when you became a jonin," Minato replied, "But now that I see your progress, I can tell, you may be genin in rank but kage in heart, mind, and power."

"Arigato, Tou-san. I will treasure this gift," Naruto said. Additionally, there was a key, but he couldn't find anything to fit it in, so he decided to just start training. After rereading the paper five times, he got to work.

After three hours, he could already travel from one kunai to another, though he needed to take a ten second break before he could do it again.

"The progress... he's soaking it up like a sponge," Minato thought. After another four hours, he could traverse between ten Hiraishin kunai without stopping.

It was then that he realised how tired he was, after all, he had trained for seven hours non-stop. He took a drink from his canteen that he unsealed from his storage seal.

It was then that his father said, "You know, if you replicate the Hiraishin seal on your hands, you can go anywhere, not just where the kunai are. All you have to do is flare your chakra when you need to apply it on a surface, then it will stick to that surface. Or else, touching anything else with your hands will cause the seal to be applied."

Naruto facepalmed. Why didn't he think of that? "Aesthetically, it's horrible!" Kushina shouted from the mindscape. "Oh, but you sure didn't mind!" Minato said, and a make out session ensued within the house, which Naruto had cut off connection to earlier to give them privacy.

Soon, it was 7. Grabbing his supplies, Naruto sealed the kunais back and left for the roof.

A minute later, his girlfriend stepped in. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting long," Yugito apologised.

"No, I just came. Let's start," said Naruto, who pulled out a large picnic mat and placed it on the flat part of the roof. Taking out a basket, he placed it between them as they sat down and removed a sandwich.

"You really thought this through, didn't you? Sealing food into your storage seals didn't really seem like a last minute plan."

"It was," Naruto lied. Grabbing an apple, he passed it to Yugito who bit into it gratefully. He then unsealed a blanket which he placed around Yugito, and commented, "It's sunset."

She looked up and pushed her blonde bangs away, it was indeed a beautiful sunset. The sky was purple with multiple streaks of orange. Lacing her fingers with his, she sighed, "How I wish we could stay like this forever..."

"Don't we all..." Naruto replied.

Grabbing a piece of cheese, he slowly bit off a piece and handed it to her. She passed it back after eating her share, and then they repeated this until the cheese was no more.

Yugito looked at his wind-blue eyes and leaned in. He did so as well, and their lips met.

After a good fifteen seconds, they broke apart. "Well, I guess that ends it, see you tomorrow," Naruto said, and packed up. "I'm working on a new jutsu, but you'll only see it in the third test," Naruto promised.

"Sounds interesting... good luck, Naruto-koi," Yugito replied, and left.

The Fifth Day

By the end of the five days, he had mastered travelling with the Hiraishin like a Shunshin, without exhaustion. Yugito had also been training in her cat powers and taijutsu.

Everyone packed up and left for the third test. When they arrived, they were surprised not to be at the Konoha Stadium, but at a giant sparring room. "Due to the abnormally large number of genin completing the second test, we have decided to hold a preliminaries session," the Hokage announced on top of his spot at the high platform.

At the back of the room, there was a giant statue of the Sandaime's hands forming the Hitsuji hand seal.

"I'm the proctor for the third exam, Gekko Hayate, and the matches will commence within five minutes," a man with brown hair declared, "But before that, would anyone like to withdraw?"

"Gekko-san, I would like to withdraw," Kabuto said, and left the room. So did his team members.

The remaining twenty one people left for the top observation platform.

"Alright! The first match... Uchiha Sasuke vs Hyuga..."

Author's Notes:  
Haha, there are three Hyugas in my story, though I think you guys already guessed who the opponent will be. Bad news: tomorrow is the last day of my school holidays, so I might longer to update chapters after school reopens. However, don't lose faith in my story, and check for updates every other day. New topic: no one has answered yet about the possibility of a lemon. Stay tuned, for more action in the next chapter!

Until tomorrow, Ja Ne


	16. Chapter 16

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 16: Chunin Exams Third Test

Previously:  
"Alright! The first match... Uchiha Sasuke vs Hyuga..."

"Mina! Hajime!"

The two Konoha-nin stepped onto the training ground. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, while Mina simply looked at him with her pale purple eyes.

He rushed forward with the Interceptor Fist, and just as he was about to strike, a shout of "Byakugan!" occurred. She easily parried his strikes, and delivered some of her own.

Well, obviously it wasn't called the Interceptor Fist for nothing. He tried to "intercept" her finger strikes, only resulting in severe pain where he did. He was thrown back, and he weaved the hand seals: Snake, Ram, Monkey, Pig, Horse, Tiger, and delivered his favourite fire jutsu. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Mina dodged quickly, though some small flames still pricked her skin. "Hinata-sama! Permission to use ninjutsu!"

Hinata gave her consent, and Mina shouted, "Suiton: Kokuu no Jutsu (Water Style: Black Rain Jutsu)!" Oil like drops started falling on Sasuke.

He sneered, "What's this gonna do? Make me dirty?" She smiled, "No, just returning the favour. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The oil served as an accelerant, speeding up the flames towards Sasuke who merely dodged it, but didn't notice that as he was covered in all oil, the fire was spreading towards him.

"Katon: Karyu Endan!" he shouted hurriedly. The flames reversed, and spread around Mina. Seeing no way out as the flames closed in, she conceded defeat.

"Uchiha Sasuke wins! Next match: Inuzuka Kim vs Aburame Shino!"

Kim jumped down from the platform while Shino took the stairs. "Hajime!"

"It would be so easy to crush you, bug boy," Kim taunted. Shino remained expressionless, saying, "I wouldn't think so if I were you, Inuzuka-san."

She suddenly had a weird feeling. Was this... chakra depletion? Her partner, Midorimaru, barked.

"Jujin Taijutsu Ogi: Gatsuga (Man Beast Secret Taijutsu Art: Fang Passing Fang)!" Kim yelled as she and her dog ran forward while spinning like tornadoes. The twin tornadoes hit Shino right in the gut, sending him flying back.

She was tired. Very tired. And her chakra continued depleting. What was going on?

"Kikaichu, Inuzuka-san, kikaichu," a calm voice came from behind her.

She turned around, and got kicked all the way to the other side of the stadium, unconscious. Apparently, the "Shino" she had used the Gatsuga on was a bug clone.

"Aburame Shino wins! Next match: Sabaku no Kankuro vs Abumi Zaku! Hajime!"

Zaku smirked, "You won't last long against my sound with your makeup and cat suit!"

"For the last time, it's war paint! Let's begin!" Kankuro retaliated. Zaku fired off soundwaves at the puppeteer, who dodged nimbly, and fired off his puppets at the opponent.

Zaku fought them with his taijutsu, obviously having the upper hand. He slowly worked his way to the puppeteer, punching him in the face.

Surprisingly, the whole head detached from his body and flew back. "That was my favourite puppet, you know," the real Kankuro said from behind. "Black Ant, let's go!"

Deftly raising his fingers in a particular fashion, his biggest puppet, identified as Black Ant, spun and flew upwards, striking Zaku skyward as well. The torso snapped open and trapped Zaku within.

"Crow!" Kankuro gestured to the "beheaded" puppet, and it split into eight parts, flying up to meet Black Ant. Shutting his fingers, the eight bladed parts entered slits in Black Ant's torso, causing a loud scream.

He waved his hands downward, and the whole contraption landed on the floor. "Kurohigi: Kiki Ippatsu (Secret Black Art: Iron Maiden)!"

The head of Crow came flying down, its neck a sharp bladed tip which entered the top of Black Ant's torso. The now completely impaled Zaku, screamed a very manly scream as the whole thing, torso, limbs and head exploded, killing the Oto-nin.

The slightly disgusted Hayate announced, "Sabaku no Kankuro wins! Up next: Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino."

They looked at each other and smirked. "Winner gets Sasuke-kun!" "You're on!"

Sasuke just gave a "what the hell" look as his love life was put on the table for two women to gamble; both of whom he disliked.

"Hajime!" The two girls stared at each other intently. They began by engaging in taijutsu and shurikenjutsu.

Then Ino cut her hair and scattered it all over the floor, saying that she wouldn't need her hair to be a kunoichi.

Then she formed the hand seal for her clan's special technique, the Mind Body Switch Jutsu. Sakura, to her credit, recognised it, and listed its flaws. "When you use this jutsu, you launch your spirit at a straight line to the opponent. However, if you miss, your body is left defenceless."

"I don't care! Ninpo: Shintenshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Jutsu)!" She turned limp, and Sakura said, "That was a poor choice... Ino!"

She tried moving, but her feet seemed to be stuck. The "limp" Ino straightened her back and laughed. "Using chakra, I have created bonds with my hair to bind you, billboard brow. And now-"

"Ninpo: Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Ino formed the real hand seal, and this time, Sakura's spirit was kicked out of her body.

Ino was just about to make Sakura forfeit when the Inner Sakura kicked her out of the body and reclaimed possession.

They finally punched each other after rushing at each other, knocking both of them out. "Since neither contestants are able to continue, neither of the two will proceed to the finals. Next match: Sabaku no Temari vs Tenten! Hajime!"

Tenten unsealed her weapons, and flung them at Temari who simply withdrew her fan, opened it, and swung it at the incoming projectiles in one fluid motion.

This repeated multiple times and every single one resulted in the weapons deflected by Temari's wind ninjutsu.

"I wanted to save this for the finals, but I guess I'll have to use it now," Tenten declared while pulling out two scrolls from her pockets.

Placing them on the floor parallel to her, one on each side, she performed the hand seals: Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Rabbit, Snake. Then she crossed her arms and shouted, "Sogu: Soshoryu (Weapon Control: Twin Rising Dragons)!"

A giant smokescreen covered the area, and two smoke dragons flew up near Tenten's area. They twisted like a double helix, then it was revealed that the dragons were actually giant storage scrolls.

She jumped up to the top of the DNA-like pattern, then spun like a tornado while firing off weapons towards Temari. She lifted the fan and shielded herself with it, having no time to do her wind ninjutsu.

When the barrage finally stopped, Temari said, "It's time to end this. "Futon: Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Wind Style: Wind Scythe Jutsu)!"

A tornado picked up around Tenten, and carried her up. Next, she was cut viciously by multiple wind blades.

Finally, she collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Hayate sweatdropped at the one-sided battle, and declared, "Sabaku no Temari wins! Nara Shikamaru vs Nii Yugito!"

He said, "This is such a drag... why do I have to fight a woman? Blondes are troublesome."

"This is like a rematch of the Genin Exams, Shikamaru," Yugito commented, and stepped onto the arena floor.

"Hajime!" Hayate shouted, jumping back. "Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu!" A long shadow tendril emerged from his shadow, attempting to capture her.

She smirked, and backflipped away. She then launched herself forward, much to his surprise who thought she would keep her distance.

He proceeded to try again to catch her with his shadow, but with her agility, that was not happening. Shikamaru quickly slipped into the Nara clan's Shadow Style taijutsu which employed fast strikes using the momentum of the user.

However, he didn't know that Yugito's movement was augmented by Matatabi's chakra, so when he exchanged blows with her, his hands felt like they were burning.

"What the hell..." Shikamaru didn't even have to mutter it when she shouted, "Nezumi Kedama (Mouse Hairball)!"

Contrary to the pathetic-sounding name, when Yugito spat out the flaming ball of hair, it seemed to multiply like Naruto's shadow clones.

They chased him, and when they caught up to him, they exploded, knocking him unconscious immediately. "Nii Yugito wins! Up next is Inuzuka Kiba vs Uzumaki Naruto."

This was going to be an interesting fight.

Author's Notes:  
Well, I'm back in school, so expect irregular updates, though I will do my best to keep to the "every other day" rule.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	17. Chapter 17

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 17: Chunin Exams

Previously:  
This was going to be an interesting fight.

Naruto grinned and stepped into the arena floor. "This is gonna be fun," Naruto declared, and Kiba said, "Not for you, though. It's payback time for all those months ago."

"Hajime!" Kiba immediately shouted, "Ninpo: Shikyaku no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Four Legs Jutsu)!" He got down on all fours as his fingernails lengthened and his teeth grew like his name - fang.

He charged Naruto, who stood there, not moving. When Kiba finally impaled Naruto with his claws, "Naruto" shimmered and reappeared five meters to the left.

"Tsk, tsk, bad vision, Kiba?" Naruto taunted. "Why you..." he muttered. Kiba rushed towards Naruto again, though this time, Naruto jumped up slightly, and did a back kick.

Naruto landed on his hands, then sprung away as Kiba was sent sprawling at the other end of the wall.

"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted to his dog, which barked in response. He popped what Naruto recognised as a soldier pill into his partner and his mouths. They started growling.

"Jujin Taijutsu Ogi: Gatsuga!" Having observed its effects earlier, he whispered, "Shinra Tensei."

The pair flew back and slammed against the wall. "Do you wanna forfeit, Kiba?" Naruto glared at him with his killer intent, not even using his tenant's one. Despite this, Kiba was shivering, but he gave a response.

"No..." Kiba muttered. "You forced my hand then."

A giant blue orb appeared in Naruto's right hand. Kiba could only watch in awe as the ball expanded. It was only now, he knew, that for the whole match, Naruto had only toyed with him.

Naruto slammed the ball, ending the match. The proctor announced, "Uzumaki Naruto wins! Next match: Hyuga Hinata vs Hyuga Neji!"

Neji smirked at Hinata from his spot at the stands, while Hinata thought to herself, "If Naruto can do it, so can I!"

In the end, the match ended like canon - Hinata on the verge of death and Neji smirking. Naruto glared at him, "What makes you think you have the right to call her a weakling?"

"She is a weakling... there's no other way to say it," Neji replied, almost causing Naruto to activate his Rinnegan and extract his soul with the Ningendo (Human Path).

"Why you... just you watch out, Hyuga Neji. During the finals, I will kick your ass," Naruto declared finally calming down because of Yugito.

He entered the medical bay, hearing the doctors say, "She has no more chance of living."

"I may be able to help," Naruto said from behind.

They turned around, and responded, "What makes you think you can do what we couldn't?"

"Just trust me," Naruto said, entering the ward. "But you'll have to leave."

They sighed, and complied. Sealing the door with his demonic chakra, he activated the Rinnegan.

Looking down at Hinata, he said, "I've never tried this before, but here goes nothing. Jigokudo (Naraka Path)."

Purple flames appeared behind him and a giant head sprouted out from it. It opened its mouth wide, and a tongue shot out from it, wrapping around Hinata.

Though she wimpered in fear, she was comforted by Naruto's presence, though she was still guilty of almost killing him (not knowing that she actually did).

It pulled Hinata into its cavern-like mouth, and after a minute, replaced Hinata in the ward's bed, fully recovered.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, I will have to wipe your most recent memories."

Her opalescent eyes looked into his dojutsu, and recoiled in awe. That was the last thing she remembered before being pulled into very, very, deep sleep...

Leaving the room, he nodded to the medics and said, "When she wakes up, she should be fine."

When he left the medical ward, he saw Lee on a stretcher on the way in. When he re-entered the arena, Hayate announced, "Due to no one able to have a match with Akimichi Choji, he automatically proceeds to the Finals, which will occur in a month's time. Until then, you are all dismissed."

Choji cheered on his way out, while Naruto mentally sighed as knew he wouldn't last long in the finals.

Lacing his fingers with his lover, he body flickered away to his home. She laughed, "What's your plan for the Finals, Naruto-kun?" "I don't have a plan... yet. Let's take a nap first."

After a three hour rest, Yugito woke up to the sound of the doorbell. She groaned and slid out of her spot next to Naruto. Who the hell was at this hour? It was freaking five in the evening, the genin should be resting, if it was not the Hokage or ANBU, she would murder the person behind the door.

When she opened the door, both sides were equally surprised - Yugito met who she recognised as the Toad Sage Jiraiya. Meanwhile, Jiraiya was slightly unnerved.

Why was the Nibi Jinchuuriki in his godson's house? Or even Konoha? Was she here to kidnap him? After all, she was a Kumo jonin. If that was so...

"Rasengan!" Jiraiya slammed the blue orb into Yugito's stomach - or tried to. His Rasengan was met with another of similar size and power.

"What the-" "Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, and the thing expanded and exploded, throwing Jiraiya back.

Picking himself up, he looked at Naruto, though he was shocked beyond measure. The blonde was sporting the exalted dojutsu, radiating with an aura of power. And... did he just perform the Rasengan? Better yet, had it just overpowered his?

"Speak, before I pull out your soul and feed it to the King Of Hell. Now!" Naruto demanded.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun. I'm Jiraiya of the Sannin, and my sensei the Sandaime had requested me to teach you. And, something about... surprises?" Jiraiya explained in a breath, fearing for his life for the very first time.

He had no doubt that Naruto would carry out what he just threatened if he didn't comply.

"I don't see why I should accept training from a random guy who attacked my girlfriend, but I see that since Hokage-jiji requested this, I will accept... but if you do it again, I will literally feed your soul to the King Of Hell," Naruto replied.

Jiraiya sighed in relief. "So, let's start by leaning about your abilities," Jiraiya asked while thinking about Naruto calling Yugito his girlfriend.

"Fuinjutsu: Boon Kabe!" Naruto shouted, and surrounded his chakra around the trio.

"I possess the wind, earth and water natures, though my Rinnegan allows me the other two. I can make use of my Rinnegan powers, though not to the full extent. I can utilise three of the Six Paths, being the Tendo (Deva Path), Gakido and Jigokudo. I can use the Rasengan and other variations, including, but not limited to, the Odama Rasengan and the Rasenrengan (Rasengan Barrage). I have a personal taijutsu style, and my taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu - aided with my Rinnegan - are low kage level. Additionally, I'm a Level 15 Seal Master. I can use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and currently, I'm working on the Hiraishin," Naruto explained, and Jiraiya was awestruck.

"I'm also aware of my parents, and I am able to speak to them through my mindscape. I can also speak to the Kyuubi through my mindscape and tap on her power. Now... fuinjutsu kai!"

Now that Yugito got the full list of his abilities, she was surprised at how much she didn't know.

Jiraiya said, "Very well, I will train you in senjutsu, the Sage Arts, and let you sign the Toad summoning contract - the very one your father had. Let's go to a training ground."

"Ok, I know where, just hold on to me," Naruto said, and in a yellow flash, did the Hiraishin to his favourite training ground.

"Firstly, I want you to sign the contract, " Jiraiya said to Naruto, still awed at the Hiraishin. He took the giant scroll of his back, and opened it with his blood.

On the scroll, there were vertical slots, and in the first two, were "Jiraiya" and "Namikaze Minato", with their respective hand prints of blood.

Following their example, he used a kunai and sliced his fingertips while writing his name. He then used the blood on each finger to imprint his fingerprints.

The wounds healed quickly, due to Kurama and his Uzumaki healing factor. However, some blood dripped on the edge of the scroll. Naruto sighed, this was a messy process.

It seemed like the scroll reacted to his blood, because the unrolled portion revealed a blood seal that glowed. When the light died down, he saw a keyhole.

He came to a conclusion - that was the keyhole he was looking for that would fit his key.

Author's Notes:  
I'm posting this today instead of tomorrow because I'll have a long day tomorrow and don't want you guys to complain about updating late on the "every other day" deadline. But I'll still be posting the next chapter on the every other day deadline from tomorrow.

Until tomorrow (how many was that?),  
Ja Ne


	18. Chapter 18

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 18: The Training

Previously:  
He came to a conclusion - that was the keyhole he was looking for that would fit his key.

Taking out his key, he slotted it in and twisted it. The scroll unravelled, revealing a new layer of the scroll. But, instead of the words "Gama", they were replaced by the words "Kyrin".

"Interesting..." Naruto mused, and smeared his blood again.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Yugito looked on in shock. Was that the legendary Kyrin summoning contract, supposedly lost for the past two hundred years?

"Ok... now let's try the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu), the hand seals are Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram," Jiraiya continued.

"Alright! Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu)!" Two toads appeared, who introduced themselves as Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. "So you're the new summoner, I guess? Well, my younger brother and I are your personal summons then," Gamakichi explained.

"To summon our father, you'd have to use a lot more chakra than that. By the way, do you have candy?" Gamatatsu asked. "As a matter of fact, I do," Naruto said, pushing up his sleeves, revealing storage seals.

As he unsealed a bag of sweets, giving it to Gamatatsu, Yugito gave him a questioning look.

"I don't just eat ramen, you know," Naruto said, and poured chakra into his next move. "Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A giant puff of smoke later, and the boss summon of the Toad contract, Gamabunta, appeared.

"Where are you Jiraiya?! There's nothing to fight here!" Gamabunta shouted, looking around.

Jiraiya raised his hands in a defensive manner, and said, "I didn't summon you, Bunta. That boy did."

"Haha, is this a joke?! It's not funny," Gamabunta bellowed, though he noticed that indeed, Naruto's hands were bloody, compared to Jiraiya's wound-free hands.

Wait... the blond looked familiar. "Is the Namikaze boy that you always wanted to let sign the contract?" Gamabunta asked.

"Hai, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you," Naruto said.

"Good manners as well... but just because you summoned me, doesn't mean I will accept you. You will have to go through a test... staying on my back for the whole day. If you even fall off once, I'm erasing your name from the contract, boy!"

Naruto frowned and said, "Let's begin."

Jumping onto Gamabunta's slippery back, he activated his Rinnegan. Focusing chakra to his feet and using Bansho Tenin, he successfully kept himself on Gamabunta for two hours, who was jumping and flipping the whole time in an attempt to throw off Naruto.

"Hell... I'll accept you... you haven't even moved an inch since I started," Gamabunta commented, panting hard.

When the boy got off the boss toad's back, Gamabunta noticed the Rinnegan.

"Is that the-" "Yep." "Should have accepted you earlier," Gamabunta said, causing Naruto, Jiraiya and Yugito to sweatdrop.

"It's already eight, let's have dinner," Yugito said. "Will do, but one more thing. Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto said, while biting his thumb and channeling almost half of his chakra into the summon.

A seal array appeared on the floor, glowing gold instead of the usual black. A kyrin burst into existence, looking at Naruto.

It had the body of a lion, and was the size of a horse. Its eyes were gold, while its body was pure white. "No one has summoned me for the past hundred years... so you're the new summoner, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hai."

"I'm your personal summon, Junkin."

"Pure Gold, eh? Interesting name, Junkin," Naruto said, before Junkin dispelled.

Gamabunta said, "Your sage training will commence tomorrow, let's hope you don't petrify yourself." He then dispelled, and the trio left for dinner.

The Next Day

Naruto was reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku, and began his training in senjutsu. By the second week, he had become a sage, and by the fourth week, he had returned to Konoha, having mastered the Sage Arts, and bonded with Junkin. He also learnt how to use the Chikushodo (Animal Path).

On the last day of the month before the Chunin Exams Finals, when Naruto arrived home, there was a short make out session, before Naruto told her about his training.

Yugito reported, "I trained in my Fire Style abilities and cat-related ninjutsu. Also, I smoothed out the flaws of my taijutsu, and increased my speed. All in all, great progress."

Chunin Exam Finals Day

"Wake up, sleepyhead... your pillow is gonna become a chunin, and so are you," Naruto whispered in Yugito's ear as the sunlight reached his eyes.

"A bit more..." the sleepy female blond groaned. "Is that right..." Naruto gained a mischievous smile, though it was unnoticed by Yugito.

Two zaps later, and Yugito shot right up, laughing and crying, "Stop... it tickles..." He smile grew wider. "Good to know..."

After twenty minutes, the couple arrived at the Konoha Stadium. "Due to the fact that Gekko Hayate was murdered during the one month interval, I, Shiranui Genma, will be your new proctor. The first match is between Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto... will the participants please proceed to the observation deck while the two competitors come down to the ground?"

Neji smirked and said, "It's time for a battle... Uzumaki-san."

"Seriously? Well, I'll let you choose how you want to be beaten. Death by thunder, fox, toad, animals, or soul extraction?"

Yugito grinned, understanding what he meant. The crowd was puzzled, while Neji replied, "I don't wish to choose."

"Well then... all five!" Naruto said, cracking his knuckles.

Author's Notes:  
The next chapter will show off Naruto's powers to the crowd, and basically reveal his heritage.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	19. Chapter 19

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 19: Chunin Exams Finals

Previously: "Well then... all five!" Naruto said, cracking his knuckles.

Looking at both of them, the senbon-chewing Genma announced, "Hajime!"

"Byakugan!" "So Neji... first, death by thunder..." Naruto said, tapping his storage seal.

A modified Hiraishin kunai appeared, and while the civilians remained dumb, the older shinobi gasped, and the Kage were shocked.

In fact, the Kazekage was thinking, "That seems like the Yondaime's brat... how interesting..."

Neji narrowed his eyes, "What will a little modified kunai do?"

"You'll see... Kage Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu (Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" Naruto yelled while scattering his Hiraishin kunai around the area.

"Uzumaki-san, you couldn't have poorer aiming," Neji taunted. "Oh...? I wasn't aiming for you..." Naruto grinned, and concentrated on his palm.

"Hiraishin: Ni no Dan (Hiraishin: Level 2)!" Naruto shouted, confirming the fears of the jonin.

At a speed even the Byakugan couldn't follow, Naruto disappeared in a yellow flash. In his mindscape, Minato was smiling. His son had far surpassed him.

The only thought was "What?" when Naruto reappeared and blindsided him with a Rasengan. Though he dodged, Neji was still grazed by the surrounding natural chakra. "Hiraishin: San no Dan (Hiraishin: Level 3)!"

Naruto picked up multiple Hiraishin kunai and flung them at Neji. Neji, with his Byakugan, deflected them with his Jyuken, but those kunai in midair around him, were used by Naruto, who teleported around him and started attacking, disappearing, reappearing and attacking again.

Neji stumbled away, coughing blood. "I'm not done, Neji." The Hyuga prodigy thought, "So he uses those blasted kunai to teleport... I'll just avoid them."

"Death by fox!" Naruto announced, and teleported behind Neji, who was surprised because he was pretty sure there was not a single kunai in his range.

Naruto kicked him into the air, and his whole body started glowing. Yugito thought, "This is new."

Black markings spread throughout his body, and a fire-like layer spread over his body like a coat.

"Bijuu Rasengan!" Naruto jumped up, and placed his two hands together. Blue and red chakra orbs gathered with a loud buzzing noise and formed a purple ball.

Even though Neji was vulnerable in midair, he thought that Naruto couldn't jump high enough to reach him.

Naruto didn't need to. His hands extended like Orochimaru's neck, and plunged the Rasengan into the Hyuga's body.

Neji dropped all the way down, forming a crater. When he picked himself up, Naruto's cloak had disappeared. It was replaced by another cloak - an actual one, red with black flame trimmings - and a giant scroll on his back.

His Byakugan also picked up the fact that around his eyes were orange markings, and the irises were yellow with a single, horizontal bar.

Naruto's chakra coils were also greenish, puzzling Neji greatly. The jonin looked in awe of the sage.

"I'll show you... what it means to be a sage!" Naruto shouted, and the genin just smirked, thinking Naruto was just arrogant by calling himself a sage.

"Let's go, death by toads! Senpo: Rasenrengan (Sage Art: Rasengan Barrage)!" Two energy orbs appeared in his hands. If Neji thought that he knew how fast Naruto was, he was wrong.

Like greased lightning, Naruto sped forward, pushing the Rasengans toward his head. Even though Neji dodged further than before because he knew the Rasengans' surrounding chakra could damage him, he had severely underestimated the natural energy utilised in sage mode.

Neji was thrown way back, and Naruto took the chance to engage him in taijutsu with his fists. With his Byakugan, Neji could easily dodge the strikes, but somehow, it still felt like he was punched.

"Kawazu Kumite (Frog Kata)!" This time, Naruto flared his sage chakra, and the greenish chakra coated his limbs, effectively making him a pain in the ass to avoid.

After cornering him against the wall, Naruto shouted, "Kawazu Tataki (Frog Strike)!" He plunged his hand into Neji's stomach, sending ripples of natural energy radiating from the contact point.

The whole wall behind Neji cracked, and would have shattered if it wasn't chakra-reinforced, or if Neji wasn't a meat shield for it.

"Ready to continue, Hyuga-san?" Naruto taunted, backflipping away. "Death by animals..." Naruto said, activating his Rinnegan.

The jonin paled, the chunin gasped, while the genin were surprised to learn that Naruto had a dojutsu. In the Kage booth, the Kazekage licked his lips.

Holding the Bird hand seal, Naruto shouted, "Chikushodo!" An ox with Rinnegan eyes burst out of the ground and charged Neji. There was also a lobster which fired water cannons at him.

Using the Kaiten, he repelled the water but failed to evade the charging bull, which knocked him back and dispelled.

Neji narrowed his eyes. He ran towards Naruto, but just before he could do a Jyuken strike, there was a burst of smoke and a giant panda flew down like a bomb, landing between Naruto and Neji.

Neji ended up hitting the panda, which cracked and burst into smoke. Out of the smoke, multiple tigers shot forth, throwing him up into the air. There, a hawk was waiting for him, and made a bloody wound in his forehead.

Neji flew down, creating a crater. The animals dispelled, and Naruto spoke, "Death by soul extraction... this is your chance to forfeit..."

"No, I never will... Fate has already declared me the winner!" Neji replied.

"Well, you can take your Fate crap and shove it up your ass! Ningendo..." Naruto answered, his Rinnegan glowing menacingly. His killing intent caused Neji to choke, while Naruto raised his hand above Neji's head.

Suddenly, Neji's image shimmered, replaced with his body shape, and his soul, visible to all. The head started getting sucked into Naruto's hand, and Neji screamed.

"I-I... forfeit!" He forced himself to say. "Oh...?" Naruto released the jutsu, and Neji's soul returned to its body, the image shimmering again to reveal an exhausted Neji.

"The winner, by forfeit, is Uzumaki Naruto!" The whole crowd erupted into cheers, while Naruto returned to his seat next to Yugito. Up in the Kage booth, the Kage discussed. "Should Neji be promoted?"

"I don't think so, despite having tenacity, Neji has poor EQ. As for Naruto, I think he deserves jonin rank. After all, apart from the Hiraishin and Rinnegan, he's also a jinchuuriki and sage."

After reaching a consensus, the Kage looked back to the stadium. "Next match: Uchiha Sasuke vs Sabaku no Gaara... uh... Sasuke's not here..."

Turning to the Kage booth, it was revealed that the Kazekage wanted to come personally just to see Sasuke's match. Therefore, it was requested by the Kazekage to move the match to the end.

"Under special circumstances, we have moved the match between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara to the end. Now, it's time for the next match: Aburame Shino vs Sabaku no Kankuro!" Genma announced.

"Proctor, I forfeit!" Kankuro shouted from his spot in the stands.

"Ano... in that case, Aburame Shino wins by default. Next match: Nara Shikamaru vs Sabaku no Temari!"

The crowd was booing, lack of two matches, and all the three most recent ones involved the Sand Siblings.

Temari jumped down, while Shikamaru remained on his seat. "Why do I have to fight? It's so troublesome... especially a blonde?"

"Hey, did you just insult blondes? For that - Shinra Tensei!" Naruto shouted, and Shikamaru was sent flying into the stadium grounds. Yugito laughed, he deserved that.

Shikamaru groaned, "What a drag..."

"Hajime!"

Temari removed her giant metal fan, unfolding it. She shouted, "Futon: Tenryusen (Wind Style: Sky Dragon Fan)!", swinging her battle fan towards Shikamaru, creating giant tornadoes which headed for Shikamaru.

He quickly avoided them by hiding in the trees at the end of the ground. "Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu!" A shadow tendril shot out of the mini forest, heading towards Temari.

She quickly jumped back, but after twenty metres, the shadow stopped pursuing her. "So your shadow has a limit... interesting..." Temari said, marking where the tendril stopped with a line using her fan.

After avoiding wind jutsu for another five minutes, Shikamaru extended another shadow tendril.

Temari smirked, staying behind the line. Suddenly, the shadow moved further beyond the line. Only her quick reflexes saved her.

"Hmph, I got your plan. To play for time - the longer you drag the match, the lower the sun goes, and the longer the shadows... well I'll just have to get you first," Temari said.

Shikamaru groaned, and Temari took that as a sign of his plan being revealed.

She shouted, "Ninpo: Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" A tornado ripped its way through the stadium towards Shikamaru. He formed a few hand seals, and his shadow expanded.

Several tendrils shot up from his shadow, and covered him like a dome. The vortex passed him harmlessly.

He tried again, "Ninpo: Kagemane no Jutsu!" This time, his shadow shot further, and almost reached her. She jumped back, landing in front of the crater made by Neji. Once again, the shadow stopped.

"You almost got me. But now, you're vulnerable to my attacks because you moved out of the trees. Ninpo-"

"Kagemane seiko!"

"How-how did you... get me?" Temari asked, disbelieving.

"Look behind you," Shikamaru said, slightly releasing his jutsu. Temari turned her head, and saw, much to her chagrin, that the shadow caught her from behind.

The tendril must have entered the crater, and with the extra shadow created by the crater, Shikamaru caught her while she was ranting.

"I."

"I."

"Nara Shikamaru, forfeit the match."

"Nara Shikamaru, forfeit the match," Temari was forced to repeat, but she was surprised. Why?

"I'm out of chakra anyways."

Naruto heard him from the stands, and narrowed his Rinnegan. That lazy ass... he hadn't even expended half of his chakra yet.

After Yugito found out, she sweatdropped. It appeared that there was no limit to how lazy Shikamaru could get.

"Winner by forfeit: Sabaku no Temari! Now, Nii Yugito vs Akimichi Choji."

"Hajime!"

As you can guess, Choji was trolled very badly. "Winner by knockout: Nii Yugito! Last match: Uchiha Sasuke vs Sabaku no Gaara!"

Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the air near the sparring grounds. Kakashi and Sasuke arrived via Leaf Shunshin.

"Are we late?" Kakashi asked. "You were... but we decided to move your match to the last, and you're just on time."

Gaara body flickered with his Suna Shunshin. "Mother wants your blood, Uchiha!"

Genma shuddered, and declared, "Hajime!"

Sasuke closed his eyes. Reopening them, he revealed three tomoe Sharingans. "Are you ready?" Gaara asked, and his gourd began vibrating, causing the sand to stir around him.

"You can't beat me, only an Uchiha can beat an Uchiha," Sasuke responded arrogantly.

Author's Notes:  
Sorry, faithful readers, for not posting yesterday. This was quite a long chapter.

Until tomorrow, Ja Ne


	20. Chapter 20

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 20: The Invasion Of Konoha

Previously:  
"You can't beat me, only an Uchiha can beat an Uchiha," Sasuke responded arrogantly.

Slipping into his Interceptor Fist, Sasuke watched as Gaara emitted a low laugh. "I will enjoy... your death! Ryusa Bakuryu (Sand Tsunami)!"

Sand from underground surfaced and surged towards him. Using his Sharingan, he evaded the sand trying to crush him. He tried getting close, though the sand was an annoying factor.

"I'll crush you, Uchiha!" Gaara raged. Sasuke grimaced. Finally, he was close enough to land a blow, which he did.

Gaara stumbled back, and activated his sand shield. Sasuke couldn't punch through it... or could he?

Backpedalling, he climbed to the top of the wall. Forming three hand seals: Ox, Rabbit, Monkey, he yelled, "Chidori!" Jumping off the wall towards the sphere of sand around Gaara, he pierced through the shield with ease. Gaara was surprised.

"You... but it's not over... it's far from over!" Gaara shouted, and he began transforming.

Oh, shit. Naruto felt a sea of chakra descending on the spectators. Well, nothing he couldn't handle.

"Kai!" Naruto yelled, breaking the genjutsu supposed to place people to sleep. The Suna-nin nodded, that was the signal apparently, to turn on the crowd.

Naruto swiftly took out ten Suna jonin with ease, while the Konoha jonin were busy fighting off the Oto-nin, who were seemingly part of this... invasion.

"Naruto, lead the Suna jinchuuriki away from the village, we will transport the villagers to the evacuation area," Kakashi ordered, "Take your own team there. Until then you are in charge."

Understanding the situation, Naruto gathered the Konoha rookies who were present. "Listen, we will split up. Yugito, Shino, and Shikamaru, follow me. The rest, help out in evacuation."

The rookies echoed, "Hai, taichou!" After the Neji fight, they had little doubt of Naruto's abilities.

"Gaara, you can't get my blood!" The half-transformed Gaara glared at him with menacing eyes. "Uzumaki... your blood has much more value than this Uchiha's... I'll have yours now!"

"We'll see if you can catch me first!" Naruto replied, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Junkin appeared, and while the others marvelled at the kyrin, Naruto shouted, "Now's not the time! Get on! Junkin, please get us to the forests surrounding Konoha."

"Hai, Naruto-sama!" Junkin replied while expanding to fit the four people to be riding her. The four shinobi mounted the steed, and she took off.

The Ichibi smashed its way to them, unknowingly following the bait. Sasuke meanwhile, was brooding - over the fact that his Uchiha blood was not as precious as Naruto's.

After dropping them off, Junkin dispelled. Along the way, Shikamaru met Temari and had to stay behind to fight her.

Later, they also met Kankuro, who Shino agreed to fight. That left Naruto and Yugito facing Gaara. Well, until Sasuke came.

"The Sharingan can easily beat this demon!" "Oh really..." Naruto responded, his eyes warping into a purplish colour. "You have a... dojutsu?" Sasuke asked. Then he smirked, "Well, it's probably a lousy one. The Sharingan is way-"

A sand claw smashed on where the trio were, if not for Naruto's Rinnegan-enhanced reflexes. "Futon: Renkudan (Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet)!" A monstrous (no pun intended) amount of air was sucked into Shukaku's body.

Aiming at them, he slammed his fists against his stomach. The pent-up air was released at once, but Naruto intercepted it with his own jutsu. "Fujutsu Kyuin!" Thrusting his palms towards the incoming air bullet, a circle of energy surrounded Naruto as the futon chakra got sucked into Naruto's body, replenishing his reserves.

Grunting angrily, Shukaku slammed his paws at them, causing them to scatter. Naruto shouted, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Gamabunta bellowed, "What did you want, kid?"

Then accessing the situation, he muttered, "Oh." After Naruto stood on his back, he activated sage mode. With his cloak fluttering in the wind, Kakashi would have sworn it was the Yondaime fighting the Kyuubi if he was there.

Yugito blushed, thinking, "He looks cute in the cloak... wait, what the hell am I thinking? We're in freaking battle!"

Transforming into the Nibi, she shot fireballs at Shukaku, though he merely waved them off with his big ass paws. Gamabunta severed an arm off Shukaku after countless engagements, leaving the tanuki in pain and rage.

"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Play Possum Jutsu)!" Gaara said, forming the Ram hand seal.

"I'm free! I'm finally free! Aw yeah!" Shukaku cried out. Naruto sweatdropped, this sure was a funky demon.

Sasuke growled. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Shukaku laughed and formed a shield of sand. It turned to glass which shattered immediately after the Ichibi tried smashing Sasuke.

Naruto hopped off Gamabunta and explained his plan to the other two. They nodded in understanding.

"Nekomata Gokakyu!" Yugito yelled, transforming into the fearsome cat and firing a blue fireball. The tanuki raised his singular hand to block, but felt a sharp sting in his back.

"Chidori!" Sasuke declared, impaling Shukaku in the back.

Meanwhile, Naruto shouted, "Shinra Tensei!" Sasuke jumped off the tanuki's back, leaving Gaara who was partially-submerged in the sand that was Shukaku's head, to take the blast head on.

The fact that he was sleeping didn't really help the jinchuuriki either.

The Ichibi was knocked back onto the floor, where he was surprised. He hadn't seen that jutsu in a long time. Like really long.

"Perfect," Naruto thought, grinning. Slamming his palms hands together, he yelled, "Chakra Chains!" Seemingly from nowhere, a sealing array appeared on the ground under the Ichibi. Chains shot out at regular intervals and wrapped around the helpless bijuu, and bound him there.

Shukaku began thrashing, though it was futile. Suddenly, Naruto got an idea. "Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation)!" A small black sphere formed within Naruto's hands was shot directly above the Ichibi.

It's gravitational pull began trying to suck Shukaku towards it, as it had with nearby pieces of terrain.

However, the chakra chains was holding him down, so while he was pulled up by Chibaku Tensei, he was pulled down by the chains. The excruciating pain caused by getting caught between two opposing forces was apparently too much, as the tanuki transformed back into Gaara.

Naruto stopped the jutsu, and Gaara faced him, asking weakly, "Why... why do you fight so hard... to protect your friends...?"

Naruto responded truthfully, "That's because even though I am like you, a jinchuuriki, I fight to protect my friends and village, simply because I won't be who I am without them today. If I didn't have friends, my precious people, I wouldn't be alive today. My power... is for those whom I protect."

Gaara nodded slowly in understanding. "You already have precious people... your siblings. They worry for you," Naruto said, trying to give Gaara an idea.

"I understand. Can you... be my friend?" "Sure! Of course!" Naruto agreed happily.

"Naruto..." Yugito warned. He nodded. "I'll have to go now... see you later, Gaara." The blond jinchuuriki had a feeling that this redhead would be someone important in the future... little did he know how right he was.

Summoning Junkin who brought them back to the Konoha where the main battle was, Naruto thanked her again.

The scene was horrible. Though there were heavy losses on the Suna and Oto side, they were outnumbering Konoha.

"Inoichi-san, I need you to tell everyone to get away from me and the invaders," Naruto requested.

The Yamanaka clan head complied, and to the invaders, it looked like Konoha was retreating.

"Leaf cowards!"

Well, except one guy. Uzumaki Naruto. He stood there, cloak billowing in the strong wind.

In his sage mode eyes, a slit opened, and the iris turned red. Unfortunately for the opposition, they didn't notice. Naruto's whole body lit up with his entrance into bijuu mode.

"What did you say? Care repeating?" Naruto yelled.

The Suna chunin echoed, "Leaf cowards! What are you gonna do, genin?"

Naruto laughed, though it caused several shinobi to flinch with the voice deepened by demonic amplification.

Naruto placed his palms together.

The whole lot drew their kunai in preparation. The commander was about to yell at them to advance when Naruto reached for the spiral on his abdomen.

Making a turning motion, flames spread over the surrounding floor, banishing any such thoughts.

The spiral turned into a compete black circle, as with other spirals on his bijuu mode cloak.

"Let's go, Kurama-chan!"

A giant ocean of chakra spilled out of Naruto's body, taking the form of the Kyuubi. Naruto was at her mouth.

Her nine tails swung wildly, smashing anyone who came close. Positive black chakra and negative white chakra gathered in the ratio 8:2. The red (demonic) and blue (human) chakra orbs converged into one focal point at Kurama's mouth, forming a purple sphere which expanded rapidly in size.

The Suna and Oto-nin braced themselves.

Naruto declared, "Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb)!"

Author's Notes:  
Sorry, sorry for the four day late update! Don't butcher me! Well, I encountered writer's block, so I had to watch some of the fights to get an idea. I've decided to post every two days instead of every other day. Again, I apologise to my faithful readers. I have tests incoming, so I might not post for a while. Cheers for reaching chapter 20!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	21. Chapter 21

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 21: Konoha's New Hokage

Previously:  
Naruto declared, "Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bomb)!"

Remember the business district? It's no longer there, along with all the invaders.

The moment the Bijuu Dama was fired, Konoha won. The Suna and Oto-nin were instantly vaporized. This was just a watered-down version of the Tailed Beast Bomb. If Naruto had compressed it further, the Bijuu Dama would have leveled the whole of Konoha.

All the villagers heard was a silence, before a giant explosion was heard. Little did the shopkeepers know...

Kurama's chakra got sucked back into Naruto's spiral seal, which disappeared along with the rest of his bijuu mode cloak.

He dropped to the floor, crouching as his sage mode deactivated. He got to the Hokage Monument, where the evacuation area was.

"I killed all the invaders," Naruto said, stepping in.

"In-in less than a minute?" Inoichi asked, shocked. Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well... the business district... it's gone."

Inoichi sighed, "It can't be helped."

The rest of the week went by quickly, with Konoha's business district being rebuilt.

As Naruto walked back home, a few villagers bowed, saying, "Namikaze-sama."

Sighing, he asked them to get up. This had been occurring since the finals. The fact that word got out of him killing the invaders in less than a minute and turned the tide, definitely didn't help.

"Please, don't call me Namikaze-sama. Just call me Naruto."

"We wouldn't dare, Namikaze-sama. We are sorry for the prejudice you faced," the villagers insisted.

"Right..." Naruto said, and in a bright flash of yellow, disappeared home.

There, was Jiraiya. "Ero-sennin, what's up? What's with the glum look?"

"The Hokage is dead. He fought Orochimaru and ultimately sacrificed himself in order to seal away Orochimaru's arms so that he would never do a single jutsu again."

What?! Naruto dropped on his knees. He wept silently. "There's good news, though. The Sandaime had planned to promote you."

"I made it to chunin?"

Jiraiya smirked. "No. Jonin."

At this moment, Naruto's mouth was gaping and a plate shattered on the floor in the kitchen with Yugito dropping it while washing the dishes.

Then Naruto's faced settled. "It doesn't matter..."

Yugito felt a sting in her heart as her lover was obviously upset over the death of his grandfather figure.

Jiraiya said, "Anyway, the new Hokage shall be appointed if she is willing to come back - The Slug Princess, Tsunade of the Sannin. And you, shall be coming with me to find her. We'll be leaving in an hour, meet at the North Gate."

With that, he body flickered away, leaving behind a book - a bingo book to be exact.

A certain page had a dog-ear. It read:

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Rank: A-rank

Parents: Father: Namikaze Minato, Mother: Unknown

Affiliations: Konoha, Mount Myoboku

Classifications: Jinchuuriki, Sage

Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan

Abilities: Kage level speed, jonin level taijutsu, jonin level ninjutsu, kage level genjutsu.

Special Notes: Demonstrates ability to use the Hiraishin and Rasengan, jutsus of the Yondaime Hokage. Also demonstrates exceptional ability in controlling his tailed beast, the Kyuubi.

Love Interests: Nii Yugito, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi

Sensei: Sharingan no Kakashi, Jiraiya of the Sannin

Teammates: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura

Proximity: Flee on sight

"Wow," was all Naruto had to say. He handed the book to Yugito, who still had the same mind-blown expression as just now.

After eating a meal of Yugito's delicious spaghetti, he left the house for the search together with her.

He detected two chakra signatures approaching Konoha just as they departed, causing Naruto to frown. Those chakra levels were huge.

Two men appeared in the distance, wearing cloaks and straw hats. As they drew closer, Naruto noticed that their cloaks were black with red clouds, which for some reason caused Jiraiya to flinch (I don't know why I hate this part on every fan fiction I read, so I rewrote it compared to canon).

"Well, it seems that our target just walked right into our hands. With the Nibi jinchuuriki too. How convenient, Kisame-san," said the man on the left as he removed his hat, revealing the face of Uchiha Itachi.

"Gaki, play nice and come over here," Hoshigaki Kisame said as he beckoned Naruto over.

Naruto frowned. Orange markings appeared around his eyes as his irises turned purple, forming the Rinnegan, though there was a bar at the center to indicate sage mode.

"Kisame, you'll take on the kids... I'll fight Jiraiya," Itachi declared, and Kisame bared his sharp teeth at the teens.

"Samehada is just vibrating with pleasure to taste your chakra!"

Removing the bandages surrounding his large ice cream stick-looking sword, he revealed a bluish sword with numerous scales.

So this was the Samehada, sword of one of the Seven Swordsmen Of The Mist. The name "shark skin" was quite apt, seeing as apart from scales, it also had a mouth with razor teeth.

"Let's go..." Kisame lunged with a quick ride of his water wave towards the couple, who readied themselves.

With a kunai, Naruto blocked the vertical slash made by Kisame, who then backflipped away.

"Not bad, gaki," the blue skin man commented, "Not many have withstood my slash with merely a kunai."

Naruto grimaced. Kisame was strong, the only reason he had deflected the blow was due to his chakra-charged kunai.

He and Yugito then engaged in a five minute taijutsu vs kenjutsu battle with the swordsman.

Yugito shouted, "Nekomata Gokakyu!" A blue fireball headed towards Kisame, who responded with a water wall, though it was reinforced with a lot of chakra due to it not being a regular fireball.

Yugito's eyes grew slitted. Her hairband flew off, resulting in her hair flying wildly upwards. Her nails extended, forming claws.

"Bijuu cloak? Interesting..." Kisame said, before jumping to her like the cloak didn't even exist.

Swinging his sword, it appeared to Naruto as if Samehada had sucked the chakra off of the cloak.

Yugito growled. She ran circles around Kisame, slashing him every now and then. When she stopped, she jumped far away, winded.

The cloak receded, and Naruto took that as his cue. "Shinra Tensei!" Kisame was thrown back without him expecting it.

"Bansho Tenin!" The swordsman flew back to Naruto, who had a fist waiting for him.

"Kawazu Tataki!" In short, Kisame was sent flying upwards, his sword dropping to the ground.

Kisame couldn't believe what was happening. Him, beaten by a gaki? And he hadn't even used his bijuu yet.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" He yelled, spurting a torrent of waves towards the jinchuuriki. Naruto formed the Tori hand seal, and muttered, "Chikushodo."

A giant shell-like creature dropped down around Yugito, protecting her. Meanwhile, an octopus flew out into the depths just as Kisame announced, "Suiton: Goshokuzame (Water Style: Five Hungry Sharks)!"

Five chakra sharks shot out of his fingertips, and charged towards Naruto.

The octopus strangled the sharks with five of its tentacles, while the other three flew towards Kisame.

He grunted and jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding being speared by them. A shadow fell on him, and he looked up - a shadow clone.

Did that brat think it would work? He smirked, and bit the clone with his shark teeth.

The clone didn't dispel. It exploded.

All of Kisame's teeth broke, and his face was badly mutilated as he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Naruto was about to finish the job when Itachi appeared by his side, with several injuries as well.

"See you again, Naruto-kun," the ex-ANBU captain said before flickering away with his partner's body, sending crows flying everywhere.

"Damn... Akatsuki," Jiraiya told the couple. "If I see Kisame again, I'm gonna turn him into shark fin soup (the funny part is that while writing this, I'm drinking shark fin soup with pepper and vinegar in a Chinese restaurant)!"

"Who are they anyway?" Yugito asked. "Not much is known about them, but all we know is that they are a mysterious organisation of S-rank nukenin targeting the bijuu. As to why, that is unknown too," Jiraiya explained.

Over the next three days, the trio travelled to the cities in Hi no Kuni, and when they arrived at Tanzaku town, Jiraiya said, "She's bound to be here. There's a festival here, and where there's a festival, there's gambling, and where there's gambling, there's Tsunade."

"Good analysis," Naruto said, right before he heard a table smash in a bar next to them.

The three entered the bar, and there, was a bar fight. It was between a middle-aged man and a woman in her forties. There was another lady, a brunette who was pulling back the woman.

"Oh look! Tsunade-hime!" Jiraiya exclaimed, and the woman turned to him at the sound of her name.

"Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya-sama."

The women greeted the toad sage. "What are you here for?"

"Well, you see... Hiruzen-sensei just died at the hands of Orochimaru during the Suna-Oto Invasion. So now we need-"

"A new Hokage? And I suppose, you brought these... children to convince me?" Tsunade cut in.

"Hai. This is Uzumaki Naruto, the Yondaime's son and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. And this is Nii Yugito, his girlfriend and the Nibi jinchuuriki."

"Hmph. I don't want to go back. Being Hokage is stupid, have you seen? My grandfather, granduncle and sensei all died for the village. Why would they risk their lives for some village?! Because they were Hokage!" Tsunade shouted.

"Hey! I don't care who you are, don't insult my dream of being Hokage. It's alright if you don't want to be Hokage, but don't insult the title. From what I hear, you are nothing but a coward!" Naruto replied angrily.

"Oh, and just who do you think you are, wannabe Hokage?!"

"You wanna fight, huh?! Let's take it outside! If I win, you come back as Hokage! If you win, you stay where you are!" Naruto retorted.

"Bring it on, gaki! You think you, a genin, can beat me?!" Tsunade taunted.

A giant tick mark appeared on Naruto's forehead. If only she knew...

"Oh crap... Tsunade-hime! Don't do it!" Jiraiya said, knowing full well of Naruto's kage abilities.

Her assistant, later identified as Shizune, yelled, "Tsunade-sama! Don't get in trouble!"

Unfortunately for the older blond, she didn't listen. Yugito just clenched her teeth.

Suddenly, the necklace on Tsunade's neck began glowing green. It was a diamond, like literally that shape. The gem was attached to a leather band, with other beads accompanying it.

It began floating towards Naruto, though it was still attached to her neck. Then it stopped.

Author's Notes:  
Yes! Finally posted a chapter on time! This necklace plays an important part in the story, so stay tuned.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	22. Chapter 22

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 22: The Bloodline Reawakens

Previously:  
It began floating towards Naruto, though it was still attached to her neck. Then it stopped.

"It seems that this necklace likes you... fine, if you win, I'll add this as a bonus," Tsunade said.

"But-but... that's the Shodaime's necklace!" Shizune cried.

"Hmph. But don't think you'll beat me, brat. I'll defeat you in one hit."

They moved outside to a wide, empty street. "Hajime!" Jiraiya declared, the unwilling proctor for the duel.

Tsunade cracked her knuckles. Naruto just stood there, while the sides of his eyes gained a familiar orange hue. His eyes were tinted yellow, with a long black bar marking part of the iris' diameter for each eye.

"This is gonna be easy," Tsunade smirked, and lunged forward with her hand coated with chakra. He ducked, and landed a hit on her stomach which sent her flying back.

"You..."

Naruto threw a kunai at her, which she caught easily. Twirling the kunai around the hoop, she laughed.

"This won't beat me, gaki. You really think-"

"You shouldn't have done that. Look."

Tsunade examined the kunai with confusion. Nope, no explosive tag. What was it? Wait, those markings... three prongs? It can't be-

A bright yellow flash told her it could be. Kicking her upwards with Kawazu Tataki, she flew up, still recovering from the shock.

Then his yellow irises turned purple, rings spreading from the center, though the bar was still there.

"Bansho Tenin!" The Slug Princess was pulled down faster than the usual gravity, which left her smarting with vertigo. The fact that she was an alcoholic didn't help much.

Waiting for her, were two Rasengans.

"Senpo: Rasenrengan!" The Rasengans met her abdomen, and Tsunade was sent flying up once again.

With a flick of his wrist downwards, the Sannin was slammed face-first into the concrete floor. Yes. Into.

A giant crater was where they had to dig out Tsunade. By then, Naruto had calmed down, eyes returning to normal.

She asked, "H-how?"

He answered simply, his "dumb blond" facade long gone, "Deception is the greatest tool of the shinobi."

"Looks like... the necklace is yours," Tsunade said, undoing the tight knot behind her neck.

Walking behind the jinchuuriki, she tied the knot again, and the necklace seemed to react explosively to his touch.

The moment he did, it glowed green like earlier, and memories flooded into his head. He held his head in pain, it felt as if someone had just branded him with a hot iron on the head.

Naruto's knees buckled, what was going on? Yugito looked on in concern. "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's eyes were shut, wincing against the pain. "My head-" was all he made it to before he was unconscious from the intensity.

"Uzumaki Naruto, is it? It appears that my descendants aren't completely wiped out," a rough voice said.

When Naruto opened his eyes he saw a man in a black jumpsuit with red armour over him. His face... the Shodaime's!

"Senju-sama!" Naruto said, kowtowing.

"Now, now, no need for pleasantries. Just call me Hashirama," the Shodaime said.

"H-hai, Senju, I-I mean Hashirama," Naruto said, still getting over the shock of meeting the First.  
"Now, I need you to do me a favour - push your chakra into this chakra paper," the Shodaime requested.

When Naruto did, the results were the same as back in Chapter 3. The remnants of the crumbled paper and the wet paper moulded to form a new piece of paper.

"As I suspected - you have the Kekkei Genkai," Hashirama observed.

"Kekkei Genkai?"

"Hai. The Mokuton Kekkei Genkai. Only four had ever possessed this power - Uchiha Madara and Yamato, though both are artificial. You and I are the only people to have this power through a bloodline," Hashirama explained.

"T-the Mokuton Kekkei Genkai?" Naruto asked, bewildered.

"All you need to learn is in this journal," the Shodaime said, handing him said item. "You have to go now... make full use of this bloodline. Whenever you create a new mokuton jutsu, just document it here."

Then, he disappeared, while Naruto woke up in the real world.

"-and, Orochimaru asked for my help to heal his arms, in exchange for reviving Dan and Nawaki. The meeting is in one week's time," came the voice of Tsunade.

Naruto groaned, his head still hurt slightly. "Naruto-kun, you're awake!" Yugito said (I was thinking along the lines of "no shit").

Yugito updated him on the situation, they were in a hotel and two rooms were booked; one for Tsunade and Shizune, the other for Jiraiya, her and him. Dan was Tsunade's lover while Nawaki was her brother. Both were dead, which was why Orochimaru offered to revive them.

"That snake bastard... I'll murder him!" Naruto shouted, his eyes flashing red for a moment.

By now Tsunade knew of his abilities, so she didn't doubt that he couldn't do as he said.

"A-rank... but Orochimaru is S-rank," Tsunade rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

Jiraiya smirked, "The bingo book I showed you? It was outdated."

"I have something to tell you guys... is there an SS-rank? If there is, I'd probably be there," Naruto said matter-of-factly.

"Hmph, arrogant brat, just because you can beat me, doesn't mean you're 'SS-rank' or something," Tsunade replied, leaving the room with Shizune.

Naruto raised his eyebrows, and removed the journal to show Jiraiya and Yugito. Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up so far, you'd think he was a cartoon character (if only he knew...).

"The History Of The Mokuton Kekkei Genkai" turned out to be an interesting book, with lists of techniques and effects. It was probably awkward for the Shodaime to write, considering that the "history" started with him. It had a blood seal on it, so only Mokuton users had access.

For most of the week, Naruto trained for the confrontation. When the day finally came, Naruto woke up with inhuman enthusiasm.

Softly kissing his lover on the lips, he went for a shower. Then, leaving with her and the others for the fields of Tanzaku town, they saw Orochimaru and Kabuto there, waiting patiently.

"I see you've come, Tsunade..." Orochimaru said, licking his lips. "But... companions? It appears you're not here for the deal..." the Sannin deduced, frowning.

"Teme! You can take the deal, and shove it up your ass!" Naruto yelled, his eyes morphing instantly to the exalted dojutsu.

Orange markings appeared around them, and a bar manifested in the middle.

"You..." Naruto snarled, "Go to hell!"

Author's Notes:  
New abilities demonstrated in the next chapter!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	23. Chapter 23

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 23: The World Of Trees

Previously:  
"You..." Naruto snarled, "Go to hell!"

A slit opened in the middle of the horizontal bar, and his whole body was ablaze with orange flames.

"Oh dear... Naruto-kun doesn't seem to be quite happy..." Orochimaru said. You would have thought he was a friend if not for the sarcasm.

Forming the Snake (no pun intended) hand seal, the necklace glowed and Naruto announced, finally reigning in his anger, "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan (Wood Style Secret Art: Deep Forest Emergence)!"

Trees began growing out of the ground, ensnaring the Sannin and his assistant. Orochimaru's eyes widened, he had not seen this for a while... since his last experiment escaped.

"This won't get me, Naruto-kun!" he hissed. His tongue came out of his mouth and extended towards Naruto, though his body was still stuck within the dense forest. His Rinnegan picked up the fact that attached to this tongue, was a sharp sword - the Kusanagi, in fact.

"Kawazu... Tataki!" The prized sword couldn't take the natural energy rippling through it, and shattered upon impact with Naruto's palm.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Orochimaru said, angry already. A giant snake burst into existence, and smashed the forest.

"What did you want, Orochimaru? I require hundred human sacrifices!" the snake hissed.

"Not now, Manda. After this," Orochimaru said, gesturing to Naruto.

"Oh, so you wanna play summons? Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and Gamabunta arrived at the scene.

"Gaki, I'll handle this!" Jiraiya yelled, jumping onto Gamabunta's back. "Bunta, give me some oil! Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire Style: Toad Oil Flamethrower)!"

A giant wave of flames slammed into Manda, with the oil acting as an accelerant directing the flames to the snake summon.

Naruto growled... the summon had disappeared. Hmm... underground... wait for it... "Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu (Wood Style: Laughing Buddha Jutsu)!" Naruto shouted, clapping his hands together, and then aiming at Manda while thrusting his palms towards him.

Giant wooden hands burst from the ground, grabbing onto the slippery summon. Manda hissed.

Naruto weaved the hand seals: Snake, Rat, Dragon, Dog, Tiger. "Mokuton: Jubaku Eiso (Wood Style: Tree Bind Eternal Burial)!" Trees burst out of the ground and wrapped around Manda, further trapping him.

"That's it I'm going-" The snake didn't even get to finish his sentence when Naruto closed his hand into a fist. The trees tightened their grip while the hands crushed Manda, immediately killing the boss summon.  
"You..." Orochimaru hissed. "The Mokuton has the ability to subdue beasts of all kinds... it's your turn," Naruto said.

"Kurama, let's go!" Turning his seal, the spirals were replaced by black circles while demonic chakra poured out of his seal.

The Kyuubi roared at the Sannin and his assistant. "Bijuu Dama!"

As you can tell, that was the end for the snake. Unfortunately, Kabuto escaped via Shunshin, leaving his master to deal with the Tailed Beast Bomb as he was not the one trapped by wood.

Three Hours Later

It was getting late at night, Jiraiya had left to do his "research", leaving the jinchuuriki couple in a bar. They had planned to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow, but apparently, not before some sake that Tsunade had treated them to on the slaying of Orochimaru.

After Tsunade and Shizune had left for the hotel to sleep, Yugito was still gulping down the sake. "Woah... go slow," Naruto said. It was her tenth bottle.

"S-slow down? I-I'm afraid t-that's not p-p-possible," Yugito said in a drunken slur. "I'll just have to match you then!"

His legendary stamina was not for nothing. It was only 50 jugs later that he was wasted.

The drunken pair left the bar and entered their room, though it wouldn't have been possible without their bijuus' help, subconsciously giving them directions.

As they collapsed into bed, the day ended how it started - a kiss.  
Author's Notes:  
I'm sorry how this chapter is relatively short, just that when they returned to Konoha, there are many things that need to be settled. I can promise the next chapter will be a good one.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	24. Chapter 24

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 24: The Coronation

Previously:  
As they collapsed into bed, the day ended how it started - a kiss.

The Next Day

After a few hours of travel, the group made it to Konoha, and the crowd were quite happy to see them.

They were clapping, with shouts of "Tsunade-sama!" "Jiraiya-sama!" "Namikaze-sama!" every now and then.

It was after a bit of settling down that the ceremony was conducted. "... and I, Senju Tsunade, do hereby pledge to be loyal to Konohagakure no Sato, and to maintain a high standard of performance so that I, can better serve this village," Tsunade recited the Hokage's pledge.

The crowd erupted into cheers. "For my first order as the Godaime Hokage, I want... Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Nii Yugito and Uzumaki Naruto to report to my office. Now."

The four shinobi arrived within three minutes, and when they did, Tsunade said, "This is with regards to your promotion. Ok, Neji, you are promoted to chunin because of your exemplary performance during the exams... well, except for the finals."

Talking while referring to notes that the Sandaime and various jonin left, she continued, "Shikamaru, for your strategy and effort in the invasion, you are promoted to chunin. Yugito, for your exemplary performance throughout the exams, effort during the invasion and my retrieval, you are promoted to tokubetsu jonin."

"Well, for Naruto... the following information except his rank shall not leave this room. Clear?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"For top genin during the exam, stopping of the main weapon during the invasion, Shukaku, my retrieval and killing the traitorous Sannin Orochimaru, I hereby award you jonin rank."

The ANBU in the walls gasped, while Neji widened his pale eyes. Shikamaru? He just muttered, "I guessed as much."

"Ok, now I will issue you your Konoha flak jackets. It is not mandatory to wear them, only during missions or collaborations with other village's shinobi is it so. However, you can wear them now if you like. Also, here are some Uzumaki jumpsuits - black or blue for jonin, blue for chunin," Tsunade explained.

After handing out the various equipment, Tsunade said, "You are all dismissed except for Naruto and Yugito."

When the two chunin stepped out of the door, the Hokage said, "I'm issuing you a new apartment. You call that shabby place a house? Also, I presume Yugito is moving in with you?"

"Hai," Naruto replied, barely containing his excitement.

"Well... the Namikaze compound it is!" the blond Hokage said while stamping her seal on a set of papers.

"You can go now."

"No... no keys?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"Well your dad was a Seal Master..." Tsunade began.

Naruto facepalmed. "That makes sense."

Ten Minutes Later

The jinchuuriki couple arrived at the Namikaze compound, which was long abandoned - for thirteen years in fact.

The moment Naruto pressed his palm to the seal on the front gate, it glowed white and unlocked itself, before restoring its state within ten seconds.

"Wow..." Naruto noticed the raiton seals over the fence and around the compound like a dome, though they were only visible from the inside.

Whoever attempted scaling the brick wall forming the perimeter of the compound would get a nasty shock. Literally.

As they entered, Naruto noticed Yugito's frown. Guessing what was on her mind, he said, "I can alter the gate seal to fit you."

She then resumed smiling as she observed the front garden. There was a small fountain, and a ragged kind of footpath lined with bushes leading to the front door.

As Naruto walked past, the Shodaime's necklace glowed green and the nearby plants and trees blossomed with fruits and flowers. As they entered the house with yet another seal, Naruto was simply... amazed at his father's effort.

Inside the house, the first thing that came to view was the living room. It was decked with three sofas and a coffee table, with a small kitchenette for brewing tea and coffee.

Nearby, were a set of stairs leading up to the second floor, but below the staircase, there were more rooms, in this order from the left: an onsen, the main kitchen, and a bathroom.

Upstairs, there was a study room, a master bedroom, and a store room. "This sure looks like a cozy place..." Yugito commented.

"Yeah. Thanks dad!" Naruto voiced.

"You're welcome," Minato replied, smiling. "After all, you built our new home. With your mind."

He couldn't wait to get this house upgraded. Forming the Seal Of Confrontation, Naruto grabbed Yugito with his other hand. "Let's get our stuff."

After she was pulled into the Rinne Shunshin, they arrived at Naruto's old apartment.

"I will miss this place..." the blonde jonin said now with a tone of sadness.

Sealing all his stuff into his storage seals, he then watched as Yugito stuffed hers into a duffel bag.

"Ready?" "Hai."

Teleporting back to their new home, Naruto began stocking the study with his scrolls, and the kitchen with his ramen cups. Meanwhile, Yugito placed milk cartons into the fridge and her and the other blond's hygiene stuff into the bathroom.

Thirty Minutes Later

After an intensive half an hour of unpacking, Naruto was dead beat as he collapsed into bed for a short rest. It was 6 in the evening.

"Naruto-kun?" Yugito asked.

"Yes?"

"Here's a gift for your promotion," Yugito said, removing the chain of blue beads of her left hand. After handing it to him, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki examined the beautiful blue beads. They were like blue marbles, with streaks of black. Naruto concluded, "It's stunningly beautiful. Like you."

Yugito flushed, was he flirting?

"So how do you use this?"

"Basically, it's like your chakra chains. First you toss it at your opponent, then when you spread your fingers, it will expand. The moment it's around your opponent, you form the Seal Of Confrontation with your left hand, and form a fist with your right (kind of like Gaara's Sabaku Soso). Then when you recite this incantation, it will set your opponent on demonic fire," Yugito explained, while writing down the incantation; saying it aloud was too risky.

"So it goes-" Naruto was about to read it out when Yugito pressed a finger to his lips. When he understood, she let go.

"Let's go to the backyard and test it out," Naruto suggested. They were about to follow through with the plan when there was a knock on the gate.

When they stepped out onto the front garden, they noticed Kakashi at the gates, holding a long, rectangular box.

When Naruto opened the gates, Kakashi stepped in, saying, "I heard about your promotion from Tsunade-sama. Congratulations."

"Arigato."

"I have a gift for you. This originally belonged to your mother, then she gave it to her sensei, my father. He then passed it on to me, and now I'm bringing it full circle," Kakashi gestured to the box, then opened it.

Naruto gasped. Inside was a red velvet cloth that cushioned the main object, much like a royal crown. It was a tanto with a leather grip and a round guard. The blade was short, but inscribed upon it were the Kanji "Hakko Chakra To (White Light Chakra Sabre)". In the light, it gleamed with a whitish sheen.

The blade, as Naruto could tell, was very sharp as a result of constant sharpening and polishing. One, upon closer observation, would notice the intricate seals lining the guard and hilt - no doubt made by the Uzumaki, masters of fuinjutsu.

When Naruto picked it up, it seemed to react instantly to his chakra, glowing white as the Edelweiss flower.  
As he swung it experimentally, a streak of white chakra followed it, highlighting its path.

Walking to the backyard where there were several wooden dummies, he let his chakra flow through the blade. A white coat of chakra surrounded the blade, and the moment he swung it at a dummy, it was decapitated cleanly.

"So... it's already razor-sharp. With my chakra, it's potency increases tenfold. Interesting..." Naruto observed.

"I take it kenjutsu will be your new interest?" Yugito asked.

"Of course. Again, arigato gozaimasu, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.

"No problem. I hope you will treasure this blade."

"Yes. I will cherish this. It is after all, the sword that made your father the White Fang."

After Kakashi left, Naruto produced the fire beads. Throwing them at a nearby tree, he first spread his fingers, then closed them into a fist. It tightly wrapped around the tree, and when Naruto chanted the incantation, it was reduced to ashes.

"Bansho Tenin!" Naruto yelled, and the chain of beads flew back to his awaiting right hand. Wrapping them around his left arm like what Yugito did, he kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Arigato, Yugito-chan." Next, he regrew the tree using mokuton.

Yugito smiled. The blond has come a long way since she first met him. Naruto then spent the rest of the evening studying kenjutsu and practicing with his new tanto. He had discovered a manual in the box on using and proper care for the sword.

It was 10 at night when Naruto entered the house. He saw the kitchen light on, so he went there. The Nibi jinchuuriki was drinking from a milk carton when she sensed a presence.

Upon finishing the milk, she threw the carton into the dustbin. Turning around to look at Naruto, she asked, "What?"

Naruto just shook his head, amused to no end. "Is that like, your favourite drink or something?"

"Hai... and go get a shower," Yugito replied.

Naruto smirked and entered the bathroom, stripping off. Closing the door, he turned on the shower, letting the water cascade around him. It washed off the dirt accumulated over this long day: travelling from Tanzaku to Konoha, the coronation ceremony, the promotion, moving house, and finally training with his new gifts.

After five minutes, he turned the shower off and dried himself with a towel. Wearing his night clothes, he entered the master bedroom.

Lying there, was his sleeping lover. He smiled, and leaned in kissing her cheek. "Goodnight, Yugito-hime," Naruto whispered, before slipping into bed without disturbing her. His eyes closed, blackness swooped in quickly.

Uchiha Compound

A certain emo with raven hair sat up in bed. A cold wind had prompted his eyes to open wide, and he was greeted by the sight of a man with an orange mask standing at his bedside.

"Who are you? If you are an assassin, you should know, only an Uchiha can beat an Uchiha," Sasuke said.

"If that's the case," the man said with a raspy voice, "I would have killed you already."

At the right eye hole in his mask, a Sharingan glowed red in the darkness.

Sasuke was immediately on guard. "My name is Uchiha Madara. I'm offering you a chance... to get power beyond imagination," Madara said.

Sasuke smirked. "What makes you think you can do as such?"

Madara gave a "hmph". "I'm the leader... of the feared S-rank nukenin organisation named... Akatsuki."

Sasuke gasped. "I'm in."

"Ok... but first, I need you to show me your worth... kill Haruno Sakura."

"Of course."

Packing a bag, he went to the east entrance of Konoha. Recently, he had been close to Sakura, while Naruto was out finding the Godaime.

As predicted, the pink banshee was right behind him. "Sasuke-kun, don't go!"

"Hmph... this is none of your business, Sakura-chan. Get lost," Sasuke said coldly.

"But don't you understand-"

Her statement was cut short as a katana pierced right through her chest.

As hot tears reached his eyes, he closed them and wiped them away. When Sasuke reopened them, his Sharingan had morphed into a new form - the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The Next Morning

Three knocks resounded on the front gate, and the seals throughout the house amplified that noise. The blond jonin groaned. It was 9...?

Looking around him, his girlfriend seemed to be up already. The smell of bacon and eggs penetrated his senses, so he got up to the kitchen.

After an "ohayo", he went to the front gates. There, was an ANBU operative with a cat mask. The same one that rescued him seven years ago.

"Neko-san! What are you here for?" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully.

"Uchiha Sasuke... has left the village. He has not only defected, but killed Haruno Sakura."

"This teme... has gone too far," Naruto growled, his eyes changing immediately to the Rinnegan with sage mode.

Author's Notes:  
What's up, people? I had fun writing this chapter, Naruto has gotten so many goodies! Thank you for the support!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	25. Chapter 25

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 25: The Retrieval

Previously:  
"This teme... has gone too far," Naruto growled, his eyes changing immediately to the Rinnegan with sage mode.

"Anyways, Hokage-sama has requested you to lead a retrieval team, she expects you now," the ANBU said.

"Hai!" Naruto complied, flickering away to the office.

"Tsunade-baachan, I can't let him get away with killing a fellow Konoha-nin... despite how useless she was as one."

Tsunade slammed her hand on the desk. "That's exactly why I wanted you to retrieve him. He left by the east entrance, and he is at least five hours ahead. I need you to immediately assemble a team, and get going."

"Hai!" Naruto said, and contacted Shikamaru and Neji to meet at the east entrance in five minutes.

Then, going back home, he got Yugito to come with him, though not before she insisted on him eating his breakfast.

East Entrance

"Listen up, Uchiha Sasuke has just defected from the village. He has at least a five hour head start, so we must get going now. Understand?"

"Hai, taichou!"

The group stormed down the path, with Neji taking point, his Byakugan activated.

"Naruto-taichou, there seems to be another companion with him... a male," Neji reported.

"Ok... in that case, we need to increase our speed," Naruto ordered.

The team took to dashing, but encountered an army of hollow ninja. Neji and Shikamaru stopped there to fight them, but they insisted that the jinchuurikis continue their journey as they held back the forces.

"Taichou, the tracks end near the border, I've seen them, please go now," Neji reported, "To be specific... the Valley Of The End."

The pair arrived there soon, and discovered Sasuke and a masked man, sitting at the top of Madara's statue.

"Who are you?!" Naruto yelled up to the head of the statue, which was 15 storeys up.

"I," the masked man said before a swirl encircled his right eye, and sucked his body in. Another swirl appeared at the feet of Madara's statue.

"Am Uchiha Madara," he finished as his body got reformed.

"Tsk," Naruto responded, "I'm sure."

"Oh, so you don't believe me? Allow me to demonstrate. But first, Sasuke-kun, give them a taste of your power."

Sasuke gave a "hmph". His Sharingans morphed into Mangekyo Sharingans. Closing his eyes, a thin line of blood rolled down his face from his left eye, like tears.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke focused on Naruto, and black flames shot towards him.

"Shinra Tensei!" The flames were easily deflected, considering that Sasuke learned it while on the run with Madara.

Sasuke at this point raged. He began spamming the flames everywhere, causing an inferno in the Valley Of The End (sounds like a gamer).

Naruto absorbed them like a sponge to water with his Gakido. "It's so fun seeing him rage!" Naruto yelled to Yugito over the roar of the fire.

She laughed as she nimbly escaped yet another flame from burning her to a crisp.

By the end of five minutes, Sasuke's eye hurt like shit, blood covered the whole part of his face below his left eye, and his vision was blur from staring for too long.

Sasuke cupped the bleeding eye with his left hand and stared at the pair with murderous intent using his right, though it was nothing compared to Naruto and Yugito's killing intent when they tried.

"This... is power?" Naruto laughed. Sasuke growled. The sage fired off a Hiraishin kunai at the traitor, and withdrew his tanto.

When the kunai latched onto the Madara statue's forehead, Naruto teleported to it while swinging his chakra sabre.

It was so fast that Sasuke was almost bisected, if not for Madara pulling him back. The white streak of chakra remained there, showing just how lucky Sasuke was.

Madara narrowed his eyes. "The Hakko Chakra To... interesting."

Naruto then swung up onto the top of the statue and began engaging the two Uchiha in taijutsu and kenjutsu.

His superior dojutsu forced the younger Uchiha to be pushed back towards the edge of the statue.

Sasuke raised his blood-stained katana and stabbed it into the rock in order to stabilise himself. Naruto then took the chance to swipe his tanto, making a long gash on the traitor's stomach.

However, he had no time to deliver a killing blow as he was locked on by Madara. "Uzumaki Naruto... you are an interesting one... but that won't stop me from completing my plans! This means war... the next time I see you... I will capture you and your little girlfriend as part of my plans... Sasuke, let's go now..."

Grabbing Sasuke's hand, the traitor got sucked into the spiral centred around Madara's right eye.

"Three years... Uzumaki... three years," were the masked man's last words.

Naruto picked up the katana and sealed it within his storage seals, this would be sufficient evidence to list Sasuke as a traitor of Konoha.

Sheathing his tanto, he kept the Hiraishin kunai from earlier; couldn't risk anyone finding out the secret.

"Yugito-chan, he said in three years, he would come to capture us as part of his 'plans' so until then, we must train," Naruto told Yugito.

"Ok, let's go find the others," the Nibi jinchuuriki said, before backtracking.

Where they last left behind Neji and Shikamaru, they now saw Neji, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari.

"What are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked, guard up. Gaara may have been his friend, but Kankuro and Temari weren't.

"Chill, Naruto-taichou, they were here to form an alliance... they helped us to eliminate the hollow ninja," Shikamaru explained.

Temari raised her eyebrow at the "taichou" part, but continued, "After the failed Suna-Oto invasion, we realised that the Kazekage who had issued the order for the invasion in the first place was that bastard Orochimaru himself. He killed our father and took his place as Kazekage. So now we're here to offer an alliance with Konoha."

"Well, it's not my place to judge, but I can tell you one thing: I killed Orochimaru already," Naruto said.

Kankuro and Temari dropped their jaws, but Gaara just raised an eyebrow.

"I presume the retrieval failed?" Neji asked, noticing the absence of one traitor.

"Yes, the man with him was Uchiha Madara," Naruto said.

"Even he is out of your league..." Shikamaru muttered.

"That's why I have to train, now let's go back," Naruto ordered.

The group sped back to Konoha, and made it back within two hours with the help of Junkin.

Konoha Gates

"Halt! What's your business... oh..." Izumo said before faltering as he saw the group or more specifically, Naruto.

Kotetsu said, "You're cleared!"

Naruto nodded to the Eternal Guards and brought his guests to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-baachan, I'm here with an alliance from Suna," Naruto said, giving her a look that said the mission would be after the guests left.

She understood and agreed to the alliance after making sure they had genuine intentions.

After they left, Naruto said, "The retrieval failed."

"Nani?" Tsunade couldn't help but yell.

Wincing, Naruto explained the whole situation to her. She just gave a mixed reaction to Uchiha Madara.

"Well, the reason why Hiruzen-sensei died was because he was fighting... against the Shodaime and Nidaime. Apparently, Orochimaru used the Nidaime's justu, 'Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)', to revive the brothers, my grandfather and granduncle. Therefore I wouldn't be surprised if his assistant Kabuto revived Madara too," Tsunade explained.

"At any rate, I'll need to train. I've got three years, so I'll make the best use out of it," Naruto declared.

"Oh yes, you will," came a familiar voice from the window.

"Ero-sennin!"

"I'll be taking you for a three year training trip to improve your skills, you'll need them against a guy like Madara," Jiraiya said.

Yugito hid her feelings behind a mask of calm, because she knew Naruto needed it.

Tsunade agreed, so she signed a couple of papers and handed them to Jiraiya.

"From now on, Uzumaki Naruto is a fully fledged student of Jiraiya of the Sannin, and can travel freely across the Elemental Nations, unless called back by Konoha. He will only resume service upon three years, after which he is to continue completing missions. This takes immediate effect, on order of the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju of the Sannin," Jiraiya read.

"So when are we going?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'll give you a day for your goodbyes, we'll leave 8 in the morning tomorrow," the Sannin said.

"Alright, I'll take my leave now," Naruto said, and grabbed the hand of his lover.

"Rinne Shunshin," he said, and flickered away to his house.

He began writing many letters, and dropped them off. It was soon late at night, and he retired to bed.

He smiled as he noticed the look on Yugito's face - such serenity. Naruto sighed, tomorrow would no doubt be a tough day of travelling and training.

The Next Morning

Naruto opened his eyes, and looked beside him. Her peaceful look was still there, so he decided to leave her alone.

Slipping out of bed silently, he pulled up the covers on his girlfriend, and left to pack his bag.

9 O'clock

Naruto arrived at the entrance where his master was waiting for him when he noticed a small crowd gathering.

There were his friends, the Ichiraku Family, and some civilians. Apparently, they had heard of his departure.

Suddenly, a burst of killing intent came rushing to him. "Were you trying to leave without telling me?!" Yugito shrieked, tackling him.

"Gomen-" Naruto said before he was cut off by a passionate kiss.

"Stay safe for me, alright?" Yugito whispered.

Naruto chuckled, "Of course, Yugito-hime."

Then he stood up, and so did Yugito, blushing at what she just did in public.

"Let's go, Ero-sennin!" Naruto said, and a huge tick mark appeared on his head, causing the crowd to laugh.

Author's Notes:  
So Naruto finally leaves for his training. New powerful jutsus and more overpoweredness! To answer a question and clarify things, Hiraishin Level 3 is not the ability to teleport to a place where his kunai once were, referring to the Naruto vs Neji fight. I neglected to mention Naruto using the Hiraishin seal on his hand and marking Neji with it. Hiraishin Level 2 is not an increase in the teleporting ability, so neither should Level 3. Level 2 is ensuring the hit is made. If the kunai hits, then good. If it doesn't and passes by, Naruto can teleport to it and make another attack from behind. Level 3 is basically throwing many kunai around the opponent, and teleporting to them while they are in midair around the opponent. Naruto then uses attacks, teleporting to the next kunai when he is done attacking and attacks again. The cycle repeats until all kunais are used or on the ground. Thanks for the support, now is a great time to review and give me ideas for jutsus that he will use after training.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	26. Chapter 26

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 26: The New And Improved

Previously:  
"Let's go, Ero-sennin!" Naruto said, and a huge tick mark appeared on his head, causing the crowd to laugh.

Three Years Later

A blond teen and a man in his fifties stepped on the path towards Konoha. "Wonder how's everyone doing..." the blond muttered.

"Let's go through with the plan, shall we?" Naruto asked Jiraiya, a mischievous smile coming to his face.

"Yes, gaki," Jiraiya replied, now that they were closer to Konoha.

Naruto extended his senses to a target two hundred metres away. Finding the seal he wanted, he closed his eyes, while putting on a black hooded cloak and a fox mask.

In a yellow flash, he teleported to the Hiraishin seal he had marked the Hokage's office window with. For a prankster, he sure did have foresight to have placed it there three years ago, before he left the Leaf.

Slipping in silently, he tapped the Hokage on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Enjoying the chair, ma'am?"

Instantly, he stepped back as five ANBU dropped into the room from their spots in the walls.

The first one, Tora, came at him with a tanto. Naruto easily sidestepped him and pushed him away to the wall with enough force to render him unconscious.

The second one, Ushi, slammed his fists into Naruto's stomach but he seemingly phased behind the ox-masked ANBU, and chopped him in the neck.

The third one was obviously angry at his defeated comrades, so he rushed forth with a katana towards the blond "perpetrator". Swinging it in precise strokes, he almost got the blond but every time, missed. Why?

The eyes behind Naruto's mask of course. His now super trained Rinnegan detected even the slightest of movements in the room, even more so for the wide strokes made by the sword.

With just a flash of white (guess what?), Naruto disarmed his opponent, the katana lodging itself into the wall. He kicked the ANBU in the back of his neck, knocking him out as well.

The fourth one became weary. He began engaging Naruto in taijutsu but was quickly knocked cold by a Kawazu Tataki in the stomach.

The fifth ANBU had a cat mask, and her blond braid swayed as she stepped in front of Tsunade, protecting her from this unknown enemy.

The Rinnegan saw right through the mask.

"Long time no see, Yugito-chan," Naruto said in his normal voice, and pulled off his hood and mask. His blond bangs fell to the side of his handsome face, making Tsunade go, "Minato-kun?"

Naruto waved his hand to the left, causing the Nibi jinchuuriki's mask to fly away, and gestured his hands toward him.

Yugito came flying into his arms, and he was caught by a bone-crushing hug. This was soon followed by a passionate kiss - a reunion of separated lovers.

This carried on until Tsunade cleared her throat. "Naruto-kun... so you're back. Do you mind explaining what the hell happened?"

"Hehe," Naruto said sheepishly, "This was a prank - something I wanted to do when I came back."

"How the hell did you get in without the guards saying anything? I ordered Izumo and Kotetsu to tell me immediately when you came back," Tsunade asked, bewildered.

Naruto replied, "On the day before I left, I marked your window with my Hiraishin seal."

"Three years ago?! You sure do have foresight... unfortunately for a prank," Tsunade said. "Well, I could give you credit that you beat four of my ANBU in less than a minute."

"I'll bring them back now..." Naruto said before clapping his hands. "Jigokudo!"

Purple flames rose from the floor before a giant head appeared. It opened its mouth and four tongues wrapped around the bodies before pulling them into it. After a minute, they were spewed out by the head and it descended into the floor together with the flames.

"The... intruder..." Tora groaned as he clutched his head. He then opened his eyes to the sight of Tsunade, Yugito, and... the Yondaime?!

The others did the same before Tsunade explained the whole situation to them. "No hard feelings?" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

Tora laughed. "It just shows me I've got to train more."

Later, Jiraiya popped in and they had a meeting to discuss Naruto's improvements.

Later In The Afternoon

Naruto met all his friends from the Konoha 15 sans Sasuke and Sakura. Apparently, they were all chunin now, with only Neji as jonin and Yugito as ANBU (though the others didn't know).

"Can't wait to test my skills against you Naruto! Right Akamaru?" Kiba boasted. Akamaru barked in response.

"How about now?" Naruto suggested. "Everyone, let's go to Training Ground 7."

Naruto's eyes bled purple, with orange markings lining the sides. "Tsk, this will be an easy fight," Kiba said.

Silently, Yugito laughed at his naivety. "But Kiba-kun-" Hinata started, but she was cut off by him.

"No worries. Let's begin, shall we?" Kiba said before he was tossed back fifty metres by an unknown force.

"Bansho Tenin!" Naruto shouted, and Kiba flew towards him. Four hands in total came out of Naruto's sleeves, and whacked the Inuzuka with Kawazu Tataki.

Kiba was stunned. What the hell did he just see? "Shurado: Kaiwan no Hiya (Asura Path: Bazooka Arm)!" Naruto shouted, and a massive amount of chakra gathered in his second right hand.

He launched it, and the whole fist propelled itself towards Kiba. Where Kiba was standing, was a crater the size of a small room made by the explosive usage of chakra.

Luckily for the Inuzuka, he had narrowly avoided it. "Hehe, that was just my low charge," Naruto commented, leaving Kiba gobsmacked.

"L-low charge?"

"You heard right, mutt," Naruto replied.

Kiba growled. "Let's go Akamaru! Jujin Taijutsu Ogi: Gatsuga!" Forming a cross guard over their heads with their hands (or paws) in a claw-like position, they jumped into the air with the shape of twin tornadoes.

They headed towards Naruto who simply said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu!"

Two gigantic Buddha hands grew out from the ground. The wooden palms grabbed the tornadoes and caught them, instantly stopping their spinning movement.

Naruto controlled the hands with his own hands; he slammed his two palms together, in effect, slamming Kiba and Akamaru together.

Then bundling his hands into a right hand fist with a left hand wrapping around it (like cracking knuckles), Naruto moved his hands downward. The wooden hands raised themselves, and then drove Kiba and Akamaru into the ground.

Needless to say, they were unconscious. Naruto once again, used his Naraka Path and healed them.

"Hey, you got me good, Uzumaki," Kiba said. "I get everyone good, Inuzuka," Naruto replied, winking suggestively at Yugito.

She smirked.

Seven At Night

The Konoha 15 met again at 7 for a dinner at the Akimichi restaurant run by Choji's dad, Choza. They first served twenty plates of chicken wings, of which Choji ate fifteen, while the others ate five plates.

Over the main course, they discussed their progress over the three years, though the attention was mainly on Naruto's training.

"I mastered the Sage Arts, and completed the training for my Rinnegan's Six Paths. As for my basic abilities, I've improved on my taijutsu and ninjutsu greatly, as well as genjutsu as far as my Rinnegan is concerned. My speed is blinding and my stamina is higher than ever. Also, I've completed the Hiraishin and Rasengan training, as well as my Mokuton. My chakra pool is now larger and than all the Kages present after I synced with my bijuu," Naruto said, leaving out the Mokuton and the White Fang.

They chatted for another two hours till nine, during which they drank wine and got tipsy. Well, except for Naruto and Yugito, who both asked for a glass of cold almond water.

You could see the couples now: Kiba accompanied Hinata home, so did Neji for Tenten, Choji for Ino, Lee for Kim, and Shino for Mina.

Naruto and Yugito soon took their leave as well, after the blond male tipped the waiter and bartender.

"Wow, that was one hell of a reunion," Naruto said, just as he returned to the Namikaze compound.

"You'd think," she snorted.

The moment he stepped into the house, he was lifted up by Yugito and carried upstairs to the bedroom at an inhuman pace.

"I've wanted this for a very long time," Yugito said, before making out as if they haven't met for years, which was kind of true.

The kisses soon became struggles for dominance over each other's lips. He softly nibbled her ear, causing her to purr in pleasure.

He then laid more kisses, which trailed down to her neck, then collarbone. Then he stopped, as if asking for permission.

Yugito was showing consent by nodding when she noticed Naruto's eyes - darkened, clouded by lust. She shivered.

During the height of emotions, he said the three words she wanted to hear all her life. "I love you."

That night, they made love.

The Next Morning

Naruto opened his eyes to see his lover, still sound asleep. It was quite early in the morning. "Yugito-chan, time to wake up."

She groaned and moved closer to her source of warmth. "Hmm, I've got an idea," Naruto thought, smiling deviously to himself.

Forming the Seal Of Confrontation with both hands, he... jabbed Yugito in her sides? She laughed, now wide awake. "So you are sensitive... good to know..."

"Don't you dare-" Yugito was about to start when her sixteen-year-old boyfriend began tickling her, without any mercy.

She laughed so hard that she began crying. Yugito was only spared when there was a knock on the door.

When Naruto answered, there was an ANBU - Tora.

He spoke gravely, "Gaara, the Kazekage, has been captured by the Akatsuki."

Author's Notes:  
Naruto comes back, with more kick ass powers! In response to a certain review, I let him master Shurado. Now... what will become of Gaara?

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	27. Chapter 27

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 27: The Rescue Of The Kazekage

Previously:  
He spoke gravely, "Gaara, the Kazekage, has been captured by the Akatsuki."

Naruto clenched his fist. "Apparently, it was by the Deidara the Bomber of Iwagakure."

"This guy... is dead!" Naruto vowed.

"Kakashi, Yugito, Yamato and you will be rescuing the Kazekage as part of the alliance. Also, Team Guy will be rendering assistance as backup. You will leave immediately."

Then Tora thought of something. "Why didn't you seem confused to know that Gaara is the Kazekage?"

"Ero-sennin has much information."

"Ero-sennin?" Tora asked, confused.

"Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto elaborated.

Getting the reference, Tora flickered away. "Yugito-chan, we got a rescue mission."

"Who?" Yugito asked.

"Gaara the Kazekage," Naruto responded, her eyes widening.

"Let's go now," Naruto said, sealing his supplies and putting on his cloak.

Yugito nodded, doing the same. She took her ANBU mask and sealed it too. Ever since Uzuki Yugao left ANBU, she took over the Neko mask.

They body flickered to the entrance, where they saw Kakashi and a brown haired man with a happuri.

"You must be Yamato... or should I say Tenzo?" Naruto commented, looking at the new member with his Rinnegan.

Naruto read his thoughts. "How did you know?" Yamato and Naruto said at the same time, with the blond vocalising the brunette's thoughts.

"Can he read my mind? I take that as a yes," Yamato and Naruto said simultaneously again.

"Let's not waste time, we need to rescue Gaara," Naruto spoke up, and assent was uttered amongst the ANBU and jonin.

They rushed down the path between Konoha and Suna, covering it within three days at their speed.

When they arrived at Suna, the guards immediately brought them to see the elders. One particular elder, named Chiyo, stepped out and said, "This Deidara who captured Kazekage-sama had a partner, Aka Suna no Sasori."

"Sasori of the Red Sand... interesting to note," Naruto thought.

"Sasori is my grandson. He defected a few years after his parents were killed by that blasted White Fang," Chiyo continued.

Naruto's eyes widened as did Kakashi. Then she turned and noticed Kakashi. "You... the White Fang!" she screamed, enraged.

"Lady Chiyo, please calm down, I am just his son," Kakashi said. Just then Naruto decided it was for the best not to reveal the Hakko Chakra Tanto.

"Anyways," she said, calming down slightly, "I'll be coming with you Konoha-nin to rescue the Kazekage because I know how to deal with my grandson, being a puppeteer myself."

"Ok, Lady Chiyo, we have no time to waste, let's go now!" Naruto urged impatiently.

"Hai, the Kazekage awaits us," the elder agreed, and followed the Konoha squad out of Suna in the direction a Suna-nin last saw them.

They reached what appeared to be a giant rock formation in a dense forest a few hours out. There was a tag, with the Kanji for "forbidden" on it.

"This," Naruto's eyes narrowed while examining the seal, "Is the Gofu Kekkai (Five Seal Barrier)."

"What does it do?" Kakashi asked.

"It utilises five seal tags; one on the protected area itself, and the others are hidden nearby, surrounding the area. The only way to get through is by removing all tags at once, but there may be another trap underneath: the Kyomen Shuja no Jutsu (Mirror Reflection Jutsu). It replicates the intruders exactly with the same mind and skill set and fights them," Naruto explained.

"But I'm not a Level 30 Seal Master for nothing," Naruto said, producing a brush and chakra ink.

Dipping the tip into the ink bottle, he created four clones to locate the other tags. He proceeded to draw an elaborate seal around the "forbidden" seal tag on the rock wall.

Yugito, Kakashi and Yamato could only marvel at his expertise. "3... 2... 1..." Naruto muttered, before slamming his palm onto the seal. It glowed white-hot, same as the other seals as the clones slammed their hands onto them simultaneously.

The black lines ran into the main seal tag and wrapped around the Kanji. The "forbidden" warped into "open" before the seal tag burned into ashes. As the main seal tag was disintegrated, so did the other four.

Lines began to run in the shape of a door in the rock wall. Then it slammed down, making an entrance to the cave within.

Inside, was a blond man and a redhead, both in the signature Akatsuki cloaks. Behind them was the lifeless body of the Ichibi jinchuuriki - Gaara.

"Teme, what did you do to Gaara?!" Naruto demanded.

"Sasori-danna, it appears the rescue team is here... I'll leave the body to you, since you wanted him as a puppet so much, hmph," the blond Iwa-nin spoke.

"Make your leave quick..." a deep voice came from the redhead.

Deidara took two pieces of clay out: one a bird, the other a ball. Forming the Hitsuji hand seal with the bird on the floor, it expanded to a gigantic size.

He then sat on the bird while throwing the clay ball up to the top of the rock formation.

Holding the Seal Of Confrontation, he yelled, "Katsu!" Deidara then proceeded to ride the bird out of the cave through the hole made by the exploded cave ceiling.

"This teme... thinks he can run?" Naruto seethed, a slit forming in his divine eyes.

Kakashi said, "Naruto will follow me to take out Deidara, the rest of you will fight Sasori."

"Hai, Kakashi-senpai!" both ANBU responded. Naruto immediately flew out of the cave with his gravitational power, following Deidara through the hole.

They began chasing the bomber through the forest, where there was a giant crevice splitting the forested lands in half. In the crevice, there were logs suspended horizontally across fifty metres below bridging the two crevice walls, where Kakashi was jumping from log to log.

Lifting his hitaite, he spoke, "Mangekyo Sharingan!" His three tomoe Sharingan morphed into a pinwheel shape.

"Kamui (Divine Threat)!" Aiming his eye at the airborne Akatsuki, he focused on the blond's right hand.

The area around Deidara and his bird became distorted, and everything in that area began to get sucked into the focal point of this distortion - his right hand. Deidara looked down, alarmed.

As Kakashi continued jumping along, the hand gradually got sucked into a void - his Kamui dimension.

Deidara used his eye scope, and noticed Kakashi staring at him with the Mangekyo Sharingan. "That's a... dojutsu?" he thought.

Suddenly, Kakashi closed his left eye in pain. The Kamui was released, causing the hand - and everything else around it - to return to normal, the distortion gone.

"Hmph," Deidara smirked, "I'll show you my art!" Grabbing multiple clay animals, he flung them towards the jonin who was still smarting with pain from the overusage of the Kamui and chakra depletion.

Naruto who was flying overhead Kakashi, immediately focused his Rinnegan on the animals. They were blown back by a Shinra Tensei, far away from the Hatake.

"But... what if he can reuse them?" Naruto thought, "It'll be best if I removed them altogether... how about replicating Kakashi-sensei's technique Rinnegan style?"

Refocusing on the clay objects, he envisioned gravitational forces around every animal sculpture, crushing them by pulling the forces inward - basically causing them to violently implode.

The animals were immediately obliterated, ceasing to exist before the Iwa bomber could do anything.

"That went well," Naruto thought. "You brat! How dare you destroy my art pieces! Well then... behold my ultimate art! Bakuton: Kibaku Nendo: C3 (Explosive Style: Self-exploding Clay: C3)!"

A small statue was thrown towards Naruto, and mid-flight, it expanded to epic proportions.

"So this was the jutsu that destroyed most of Suna..." Naruto mused.

"Geijutsu wa, bakuhatsu da! Katsu!" Deidara yelled, causing the statue to explode. Naruto simply blew it out of the way, towards the bomber.

Deidara was blown out the sky, and crashed somewhere in a forest clearing.

Naruto dropped down, landing a distance away from him. Kakashi them climbed up the crevice and entered the clearing.

"You..." Deidara said, "Brat! Turning my own art against me!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. His cloak burst into orange flames, bijuu mode coming forth. Crossing his fingers, a shadow clone burst into existence. A Rasengan began to form in Naruto's hand, while the clone had his hands around the orb, supplying it with futon chakra.

As four tiny blades appeared at the Rasengan's side, a screeching sound emanated from the new jutsu.

"Well, you want to see my new art?!" Naruto yelled at Deidara over the noise.

It became increasingly louder as the clone dispelled and Naruto lifted the bladed Rasengan, causing it to expand.

"Futon..."

"Rasenshuriken!"

Author's Notes:  
I'm truly sorry for the late update, my common tests have descended over me like a cloud.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	28. Chapter 28

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 28: The New Jutsu

Previously:  
"Rasenshuriken!"

Kakashi could only observe in awe as his sensei's A-rank jutsu became S-rank with a few modifications.

Naruto threw the shuriken-like mass of chakra at Deidara, who got caught right in the middle of it.

It carried him up into the sky, before exploding in a violent sphere-shaped chakra burst. In the sphere, Deidara was dismembered by many blades of wind chakra - so many that Kakashi couldn't even count them despite his active Sharingan.

When it finally died down, pieces of flesh and black threads dropped down to the floor of the clearing.

"That was... overkill," Kakashi decided. "You think?" Naruto said, the slit in his eyes contracting, morphing back to normal.

"Let's get back to the others," Kakashi said, and Naruto nodded. Both dashed back to the cave to see the puppet master fighting with... was that the Sandaime Kazekage? It was using a black kind of sand. Currently, Chiyo and Yugito were dodging the sand while Yamato was attempting to capture the puppet with Mokuton.

"Yamato!" Naruto called out, and the ANBU turned to him. Naruto whispered his plan to the fellow Mokuton user.

Yamato nodded in understanding. "Mokuton: Jubaku Eiso!" Giant tree trunks emerged from the ground and held the Kazekage puppet in place.

Sasori grinned. It would be easy to break out, just a twist of his fingers. Meanwhile, Naruto had just finished charging his jutsu. Jumping at the visible chakra strings, Naruto yelled, "Tatsumaki Rasengan (Tornado Rasengan)!"

The red orb, infused with Naruto's futon chakra, easily cut through the chakra strings like a hot knife through butter. After all, demonic and wind chakra combined would always beat normal chakra no matter how you put it.

Immediately, control over the Kazekage puppet was lost. Yamato took the chance, and closed his fist. The wood wrapped around the puppet and snapped it into a million pieces.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Sasori snarled, "Die!" He pulled off his cloak, revealing a puppet body: two spinning claws and a scroll holder for four on his back, a stinger on his empty stomach cavity, a compartment on the right of his chest, and a core of living flesh on his left, protected by a cover with the Kanji for "scorpion" (coincidentally it's read "sasori") etched into it with red paint. All this, observed within a second under the expertise of Naruto's dojutsu.

"Kurama-chan," Naruto spoke. "Hmm... yes, Naruto-kun?"

"If you don't mind, I'll borrow your chakra." A slit opened in Naruto's Rinnegan, causing his cloak to ignite with orange chakra.

"Arigato... now's lets get on with the game, Sasori!" Withdrawing a Hiraishin kunai, he flung it at the puppet while unsheathing his tanto. He would make this quick, so Chiyo wouldn't notice. As he teleported, a streak of white, yellow and orange followed him.

In a second, one of the spinning claws was destroyed. Sasori jumped away instinctively, narrowly avoiding the detachment of another claw.

"Yugito-chan!" She nodded.

"Nekomata Goenkyu (Cat Blaze Ball)!"

"Futon: Daireppusho (Wind Style: Great Gale Palm)!" Three years had apparently no effect on their synchronisation as the combined blue flame ball and raging wind assault flew towards Sasori at high speeds.

Sasori had no choice; his back was against the wall, and just one scroll wouldn't help. He removed all four scrolls from his back, and opened them in front of him. Fire came out of the scrolls and Sasori's flamethrower hands. The thick wall of flames collided with the futon-enhanced bijuu katon jutsu, creating a giant explosion.

Chiyo and the others watched in awe of the magnitude of the jutsu clash. Sasori came out, panting as he used up a lot of chakra activating the flamethrowers and fire scrolls.

"Here we go! Everyone, get out now!" Naruto shouted to the rest. Chiyo didn't really liked being ordered around, but she complied after Yugito told her it was for the best.

Sasori said, "As a prize for beating me... I'll give you this... bottle of antidote for my Iron Sand."

"... and why would I need that?" Naruto demanded. "Your girlfriend... was poisoned by my sand just now... and... give these puppets to Kankuro, that Kazekage's brother. The puppets deserve to be passed down to the next generation... that is all."

After taking the bottle, Naruto wordlessly allayed slayed him with a Bijuu Dama. The aftermath caused Chiyo to think that maybe, coming out wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I'll have to revive Kazekage-sama," Chiyo said. "How?" Naruto and Yugito wondered curiously.

"By giving my life... this world doesn't need people like me... I can pass on in peace knowing there are people like you, Naruto," Chiyo said, before performing the Reincarnation Ninjutsu.

Gaara slowly opened his eyes, and noticed the people standing around. After a bit of explaining, Gaara declared, "Lady Chiyo gave her life for me, and by extension, Suna. She will be buried with honour."

"Shit," Yugito suddenly cursed. She doubled over in pain, throwing up. "I heard you were hit by the Iron Sand right? Sasori gave me an antidote, but I don't really trust it. For now, I'll do what I can to stabilise your sickness," Naruto said in concern, before placing his hands on her stomach after lying her down on the floor.

His hands glowed green, as the Mystical Palm technique took place. Also, he added a bit of Kurama's chakra in order to increase her healing rate.

"I feel better now," Yugito said.

After a trip back to Konoha, Gaara signed a treaty with Konoha which increased their bilateral ties.

"Naruto-kun, now that you're back, I heard about the story of your new jutsu. So... your overall performance was outstanding. I'm promoting you to ANBU," Tsunade said, handing over a fox mask. "From now on you're Kitsune... understood?"

"Hai, Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto said cheekily. "Looks like you still haven't learnt respect yet, gaki," Tsunade said, a tick mark growing on her head.

"So you prefer Hokage-sama?" She nodded. "You'll just have to earn it, people don't just get my respect like it's free," Naruto said.

"Hmph. By the way, I heard about Yugito. Can you show me the bottle? I'll run some tests, then if it's deemed safe, I'll let Yugito take the antidote," Tsunade spoke.

"Ok," Naruto said, passing it to her.

A Few Hours Later

Naruto was in the compound when there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw Yamato. He spoke in short bursts. "Hokage office. Full ANBU attire. Now."

Naruto immediately slipped into his ANBU uniform and putting on his mask before body flickering to the office.

Inside, was Neko, Inu, Yamato, the Hokage, and a redhead. The Hokage spoke, "This is Terumi Mei of Kirigakure. She has requested help for her rebellion against the current Mizukage, Yagura - the Sanbi Jinchuuriki. He has been oppressing the people of Mizu no Kuni with Kekkei Genkai."

"You will return in three weeks time, whether or not the rebellion is successful," the Hokage decreed.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Naruto narrowed his Rinnegan at the lady... something was way off.

Author's Notes:  
Sorry for the delay, as I've said before my common tests have literally taken over my life.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	29. Chapter 29

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 29: The Bloodline Rebellion

Previously:  
Naruto narrowed his Rinnegan at the lady... something was way off. "Excuse me, Terumi-san... your chakra appears to display a pattern with not one, but two kekkei genkai."

"That's right, Kitsune-san, I possess the Futton and Yoton bloodlines," Mei explained, clearly impressed by the blond ANBU's skilful deduction.

"Hmm... interesting," Naruto thought. "Let's make haste, my bodyguards are waiting outside for me," Mei said.

Outside The Office

"These are my bodyguards, Ao and Chojuro. Ao is a seasoned veteran of the Third Shinobi World War, while Chojuro is a member of the Seven Swordsmen Of The Mist," Mei introduced.

Ao eyed the Leaf shinobi carefully, deciding whether or not to trust them. When his eye (yes, singular) landed on Naruto, he gasped. He was getting a mysterious aura from him.

It was like as if the blond had no training at all, yet he could tell, something powerful was being suppressed. Channeling chakra to his other patch-covered eye, he activated his Byakugan.

What he saw next puzzled him even more. There was... a purplish chakra shroud surrounding the blond and concealing his chakra circulatory system, and if he channeled even more chakra, he could make out a dim reddish glow beneath it. "This guy... I need to see his face," Ao thought.

"I suggest you stop what you're about to do," Naruto spoke from under the mask. That certainly startled the Kiri-nin. How did he know what he was about to do?

"Because I do," Naruto said, before exiting the Hokage Mansion. Kurama briefly explained what had transpired to Yugito via the Tailed Beast Plane.

East Entrance

"So here's the plan: we will go to my headquarters in Yu no Kuni (Land Of Hot Water). From there, we will formulate plans to take down Yagura's bases where he has military police patrolling the areas. After all of this, we will infiltrate the stronghold in Kirigakure and assassinate him," Mei outlined as they dashed towards the Land Of Water.

It quickly because silent as the group focused on running. Naruto asked Yugito discreetly, "Have you taken the antidote?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sensei has deemed it safe, though I still have to go for checkups every now and then to ensure the poison has been cleansed," Yugito explained.

"Tsunade... sensei?!" Naruto asked.

"Hai, I learnt from her in the three year period. I'm now a certified medic, skilled in medicines and poisons. Unfortunately, that poison was the one of the most deadly ones in the Elemental Nations, no one but Sasori had the antidote," Yugito elaborated.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Look out!" Ao, who was taking point with his Byakugan, yelled suddenly.

Within the fraction of a second, cerulean eyes morphed into violet on instinct, a result of vigorous training.

A barrage of kunais were launched right back at the attackers as Naruto focused on them. Ao was awestruck.

"Looks like you managed to stop the initial ambush, huh?" a group of ten Kiri-nin jumped out of the bushes lining the streets.

"Looks like we were right, the bloodline bitch is here," one of the Kiri-nin commented. "As scouts of the Kirigakure Military Police, we hereby put you under arrest on order of the Mizukage for possessing bloodlines," one of the Kiri-nin spoke.

Naruto spoke indignantly, "You're arresting someone for something he isn't in control of? Ridiculous!"

"But bloodline users are a potential threat to Kirigakure, Konoha-nin," the leader spat.

"So you're telling me, you're arresting people for something they might do, but haven't done? That's even more stupid! What if you were born with a bloodline?!" Naruto retorted.

"The fact is I'm not, and they are loose cannons. Since you're in Mizu no Kuni, you are under our jurisdiction. This is not for you to judge. Now step away, before we arrest you too," the leader said.

"I refuse," Naruto replied, a slit opening in his eye. "Oh? Who do you think you are, tree hugger?" the patrol leader sneered.

Killing intent flew right out of Naruto and surrounded the ten scouts, suffocating them. It then intensified greatly, causing nine of them to turn blue and drop dead. The survivor, of course, was spared purposefully by Naruto.

"Who I am...? I am the Senjin (Battle Deity)..." Naruto said, quoting from an outdated bingo book from three years ago.

The scout's jaw dropped.

"Or you could call me the Kiiroi Senko (Yellow Flash)... Shiroi Kiba (White Fang)... it wouldn't matter, because you'd be dead... like now," Naruto spoke coldly, before the demonic killing intent overwhelmed the last scout.

"Uzumaki Naruto... it appears Hokage-sama did send the best of the best after all," Mei commented.

"My reputation precedes me," Naruto sighed before removing his mask. His blonde bangs dropped to the side of his handsome face, his eyes a brilliant blue after reverting them.

"You look just like your father... I presume that tanto on your back and that kunai in your hand aren't normal?" Ao said.

Naruto nodded. Channeling chakra to his kunai, the blade flattened and grew another two prongs. The handle became wood, with the Hiraishin marking on it.

Removing the tanto from his sheath, he channeled chakra again, causing the whole blade to light up with whitish chakra.

"The Kiiroi Senko, Shiroi Kiba..." Chojuro muttered, though honestly, he was more interested in the tanto as a swordsman.

"Now that you are assured we can get to Yu no Kuni without anymore troubles, let's get there now," Naruto said.

Five Hours Later

"Finally... we're here..." Yamato panted. So were the others, with the exception of Naruto and Yugito due to their ungodly stamina.

Going down a few streets, the group entered a shophouse. The moment the shopkeeper looked at Mei, he ushered them to a trapdoor behind the cashier counter.

After revealing a flight of stairs which they went down, they entered the basement - a giant cellar that could hold more than fifty people. On one of the walls, there was a giant map of Kiri with crosses and squares, depicting captured and uncaptured war bases respectively.

"So here's the plan: tomorrow we will move out with our men to capture a base here," Mei said, pointing to a square marking on the war map.

The Next Day

A yellow flash appeared beside two guards, causing them to drop to the floor dead with a line of white cutting through both of them.

Removing chakra paper from his storage seals, Naruto began to draw on it rapidly. Slamming the now complete seal onto the main gate, he whispered, "Kai!"

Lines of chakra ink spread out from the paper towards the corners of the doors, and disappeared into them. Moments later, the six-inch steel was compressed until there was only the door frame left.

Waving his hand in a gesture, the Kiri rebels stormed the vulnerable base. Within ten minutes, the base was secured.

"That was a good job everyone," Mei commended. "Nice work," Naruto praised Yugito, making her blush.

"It was nothing," she replied. He raised an eyebrow. It was nothing? Yes, it was nothing, if nothing means wiping out half of the base with one fireball.

"That was excellent work, Nii-san," Mei said. Naruto stifled a laugh, causing Yugito to punch him lightly on the arm. "I take it you have discovered my identity," Yugito said, removing her cat mask.

Blond locks fell in a long braid behind her, with bangs beside her beautiful porcelain face. The others had to admit: she was a goddess.

"You're Nii Yugito... the Nibi Jinchuuriki and Konoha no Neko-hime (Cat Princess Of Konoha)," Ao spoke up. She pouted, "Still not as good as Naruto-kun."

He laughed. "No, no, no. My hime is definitely better."

"Kun and Hime... are they...?" Mei thought before she was snapped out of it by Naruto.

"Alright, let's get back. We got nineteen more bases to capture, don't we?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

Three Weeks Later

They had captured eighteen bases, with the last one being the stronghold in Kiri.

"Comrades! Today we will capture the base in Kiri, and win this civil war. We shall bring justice to Yagura and his senseless killing!" Mei yelled.

"Alright!" the rebels yelled back.

This was going to be the toughest stronghold they would have to capture... but if they did it, they would win and put an end to Yagura's reign.

Author's Notes:  
I sincerely apologise for this lateness. My phone had to be sent for repair, and I actually use my phone to write instead of the computer so that I can write while on the go. Even this chapter was completed via my old phone as I am still waiting for the repair to be completed. My birthday was two days ago, so you can be sure to expect a pleasant surprise in the next chapter.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	30. Chapter 30

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 30: The New Heir

Previously:  
This was going to be the toughest stronghold they would have to capture... but if they did it, they would win and put an end to Yagura's reign.

"Ok everyone fall in here now," Mei instructed, and they formed up into three ranks.

"Are you ready?!" Naruto yelled.

The men and women gave a battle cry.

"Let's move out!" Mei shouted, and the legion of rebels tore down the path to Kirigakure.

As they neared Kiri, Naruto noticed an unusually large number of guards at the front gates. He narrowed his eyes; Yagura must have predicted this.

"Halt rebels!" a guard screamed. If he thought that was going to be of any use, he was dead wrong as the two sides clashed.

Of course, the rebels had an upper hand due to their bloodlines. Naruto winked at Yugito while slitting the throat of a guard.

She understood. The game was on.

Yugito began slashing wildly at the enemies with her claws, leaving dismembered bodies in her wake.

Naruto was not one to lose. Flashes of yellow and white were some of the last colours the guards ever saw as Naruto teleported back and forth, his chakra sabre in hand.

"45... 46..." Yugito counted as she decimated the enemy numbers. "Hehe... 100, I'm sure she can't beat that... 101... 102..." Naruto counted too, mentally congratulating himself for reaching the 100th enemy guard.

Suddenly, a loud boom was heard as a Rasengan blasted five guards away. Naruto raised an eyebrow; his hime knew the Rasengan? So she wanted to play that way... so be it.

Clapping his hands, he shouted, "Cho Chibaku Tensei (Super Planetary Devastation)!" Then glancing at every single ally, he applied a downward force on them, akin to a gravity seal.

A giant black orb the size of an Odama Rasengan shot into the air, carrying the remaining guards into the sky. Pieces of nearby land flew to the core and formed a giant ball of rock.

Naruto's cloak turned to fire, chakra spilling out of the seal. "Cho Bijuu Dama (Super Tailed Beast Bomb)!" A gigantic sphere formed before Naruto's hands, and was fired at the rock ball.

The oversized Bijuu Dama slammed into the rock formation, catapulting both high into the sky. Somewhere in the atmosphere, the two collided and merged, before exploding to a million smithereens.

"Area clear!" Naruto shouted, shaking the rebels from their awe. Yugito pouted, "No fair, Naruto-kun."

"In my heart, you won. You always do," Naruto said kindly, before taking off for the city. Yugito looked at his flame-covered back; the boy who stole her heart four years ago.

Naruto narrowed his Rinnegan as he observed the Kiri army charging towards him. "Eat this! Tendo: Ryusei Ame (Deva Path: Meteor Shower)!"

The rocky remains of the earlier blast were sent rocketing towards the loyalists who were too stunned to block. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" Yagura called, a giant wave of water cresting over his army protectively.

"Hmph," Naruto snorted, increasing the propulsive forces behind the rocks. The friction began heating them up to the point where they caught fire.

The rocks easily penetrated the wave like a hot knife through butter, killing hundreds of his men. "This guy..." Yagura grimaced.

With his pyrokinesis and dendrokinesis, Naruto grew flaming roots from the ground, ensnaring the enemies. Yagura screamed, "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!"

A torrent of water shot out of his mouth, extinguishing the flames though the roots were still trapping his men.

The rebels were about to enter when Yugito stepped in front of them. "I wouldn't go in if I were you."

"What?! He's gonna die! One man against a hundred thousand of Yagura's!" a rebel said, "I mean I know he was strong just now, but one hundred freaking thousand? He will die!"

Yugito shook her head. "That was not even a fraction of his power. Even I don't understand the depth of his power."

Suddenly she clutched her stomach in pain. "Shit... it's happening again," she muttered, before regurgitating her breakfast.

This had been a recurring problem ever since last week, though she kept it from Naruto not wanting him to worry. It must have been that blasted antidote... she would check with Tsunade when they got back.

Back Within The City

Chakra sabre in hand, he decapitated hundreds of loyalists within ten seconds, credits to his Hiraishin. This was turning out to be a massacre, the city turning into a slaughterhouse.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" Yagura shot a powerful water dragon at Naruto. Guess what? "Shinra Tensei!"

The dragon reversed its flight path, slamming into the raging army. The Yondaime began firing off torrent after torrent of water cannons at the Yellow Flash.

"Thanks for the chakra!" Naruto shouted cheekily, using his Preta Path to absorb the tyrant's jutsus.

"Son of a-" Yagura cursed before having to avoid a trunk trying to entangle him.

"Suiton: Seiryusho (Water Style: Azure Dragon Palm)!" Yagura shot a burst of water at an incoming barrage of kunais.

"Ha, got you!" Naruto yelled, slamming a Rasengan into the tyrant's back. A stray kunai had flew behind Yagura, allowing Naruto to teleport to it.

"Yagura" grinned, before dissolving into water. The real Yagura appeared behind Naruto, swatting him away with his staff.

Suddenly, a voice came from above. "Two can play this game," Naruto yelled, the swatted clone dispersing into smoke.

Yagura grimaced. A shadow clone? The Yellow Flash nosedived, an Odama Rasengan in his hand. Yagura slammed his staff onto the floor, causing a small whirlpool of water to gather at the hooked end of it, where a flower was located.

Then lifting it up, he yelled, "Suiton: Mizukagami no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Mirror Jutsu)!"

The whirlpool became a reflective mirror, where another Naruto burst out of it, an Odama Rasengan in hand to face the original.

Naruto was surprised. The two blue spheres clashed, resulting in a giant explosion. As he backpedalled away, he thought, "So he has an ability which allows him to copy the opponent's jutsus... though it only clashes once before the copy disperses... this will be a problem..."

Then he thought up a plan, raising his hands forward. Orbs began converging into a purple sphere.

Yagura raised his eyebrows, amused at the thought of a Bijuu Dama being used in this battle. Naruto suddenly spun back, and fired the Tailed Beast Bomb at the Mizukage Mansion.

"Shit!" Yagura cursed, body flickering in front of his precious mansion to stop the incoming sphere from colliding. For a moment, Naruto noticed a small glint in the Kage's eyes, a genuine want to protect the mansion. Then his look returned to normal - an enraged face.

"Got him," Naruto thought as the Bijuu Dama hit the Yondaime Mizukage square in the chest.

An explosion the sound of two mountains slamming into one another and dissolving rang out throughout Kirigakure, killing the nearby men just from the extreme decibel count.

In the crater, a giant turtle in its shell emerged, before shrinking back into Yagura. "You left me no choice..." Yagura said, before fully transforming into Isobu the Sanbi.

"Araumi Shibuki (Rough Sea Spume)!" The turtle yelled, firing off a highly-powered water cannon; this was no child's play.

"Fujutsu Kyuin!" Naruto responded, sucking the water in. "Shinra Tensei!" he continued - even he couldn't fully absorb that kind of Tailed Beast power.

The repelled water found its way back to the transformed Yagura, who used his hydrokinesis to fling it in a wave back towards Naruto. "Damn it," he muttered. "Mokuton: Mokujoheki (Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall)!" Wooden trunks grew out of the watery floor and locked into a dome-like formation, protecting the Mokuton user.

"Kuso!" Yagura cursed, and grew another tail: he was now at two tails. The current half-human half-Bijuu creature roared, before sending another torrent of water at the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

Enough was enough. Naruto yelled, releasing his demonic power in waves. His Bijuu Cloak came to life, igniting the nearby buildings.

His nine tails power deflected the water and bounced it back to the Sanbi. "Senpo: Cho Odama Rasengan (Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan)!" Naruto slammed the ball into Isobu's shell, causing crack marks to form.

The Sanbi glared at the Kyuubi, and began forming a Bijuu Dama. Naruto shouted, "No you ain't! Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu)!"

A trunk moulded itself into a dragon with yellow eyes. It launched itself at Isobu, then wrapped around the giant turtle. The turtle spat the Bijuu Dama at the dragon's mouth, causing the wooden creature to explode. The Bijuu Dama, however, went through but was caught by a wooden hand belonging to Naruto's wood golem.

"Mokuton: Mokujin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu)!" Naruto announced. The golem, which possessed the same golden eyes as the dragon, slammed the Bijuu Dama into the Sanbi's shell, causing it to break, courtesy of the explosion.

Isobu screamed, now fully exposed to the hazardous surroundings. Sliding a love token off his left arm, Naruto flung it at the Bijuu while spreading his fingers. The blue necklace extended in length, enough to encircle the turtle, which was now at full power: three tails.

Then he closed his hand into a fist. The beads wrapped tightly around the tailed beast, restricting its movement.

"Curse you, Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto simply sighed and chanted the incantation. The necklace beads glowed, and caught fire. Isobu began transforming back into Yagura, who was now very weak from going full power.

The chakra of Kurama began flowing back into the seal, before the cloak disappeared. Walking to the crater, Naruto stared at the vulnerable Kage.

Something was wrong. Yagura's chakra was disrupted. Was it...? Naruto summoned the King of Hell. Naruto began rifling through his memories. All Naruto observed was a blank mind, only the last thing he saw was a pair of Sharingan.

"Damn!" That explained why he fought so hard to protect the mansion - part of his personality was showing, though that blasted Madara must have reigned him back in.

Suddenly, Yagura's breathing stopped. He was just a puppet in the hands of Madara after all. He yelled with demonic amplification, "Everyone stop! This war is over; your Kage was manipulated all along."

Hearing him, the remaining loyalists dropped their weapons. Then Naruto said via the Tailed Beast Plane, "Isobu, I'm sorry to cause you so much pain... but you and your jinchuuriki were manipulated by a man with the Sharingan."

"Who?" Isobu demanded, his voice in obvious anger. "Uchiha Madara. I can make you a deal: I promise to protect you at all times from anymore harm, for you have gone through enough pain. In exchange, you will act as a guardian of Kiri - to protect this land and its inhabitants. Interested?"

"You got yourself a deal, kid," Isobu agreed. After Naruto left the mindscape, Isobu asked Kurama, "What do you see in that kid?"

"I see... potential beyond measure. I see our father in him," Kurama responded after pondering for a while. Isobu nodded. "So you think the same."

Two Days Later

Mei had been instated as the Godaime Hokage, and there was a party to celebrate. "Thank you so much for Konoha's help, especially you, Uzumaki-san. I'm considering an alliance. What do you think?"

Naruto smiled. "I think it's a great idea!" Then they clinked their glasses and downed the fine sake, straight from the Land of Rice. "Tsunade-baachan is gonna be so happy!" Naruto thought.

Kushina praised, "That was a good job, Naruto-kun!" Minato agreed, "That was great, reminds me of the time I fought the Iwa-nin."

"Thanks, kaa-san, tou-san," Naruto replied. Yugito came around to his table. "We actually managed to win the war! Now we're going back with a treaty? That's even more awesome! Cheers!"

Yugito sipped her milk, favourite drink ever (if you don't believe you can check Narutopedia). Secretly, she was still worried about her health - what was with all that throwing up recently?

"Good job Naruto-kun," Kakashi said, bumping fists. "What can I do to repay you?" Mei asked.

Naruto pulled her aside, and discreetly whispered in her ear. She smiled and said, "Sure. It'll be done by tomorrow morning."

When he returned to the dance floor, Yugito asked, "What was that about?"

He smiled slyly, "You'll see, you'll see. Shall we?" Yugito took his hand, and they began a slow dance, following the music.

The Next Day

"Uzumaki-san, I managed to complete the job. Thanks again for your help," Mei said, handing over a black box to Naruto.

"Thanks, Terumi-san. This gift is important... I trust you know why?" Naruto said. She snorted. "Of course."

He laughed.

Gates Of Konoha

"Looks like the Yellow Flash is back!" Izumo shouted down from the top of the giant gates. "How was your mission?" Kotetsu yelled.

Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "We beat Yagura, the new Mizukage has been appointed."

"Good job! Report to the Hokage's office."

Tsunade was spam-stamping yet another pile of paperwork when the door opened. "Hokage-sama!"

"Report!"

"Good afternoon Hokage-sama, Jonin Hatake Kakashi reporting for mission! We successfully completed the mission, helping the rebellion. We also managed to defeat the Yondaime Mizukage, supposedly a tyrant, but later found out to be controlled by Uchiha Madara. We got an alliance from Kiri too." Kakashi spoke.

"Good job, I will have to investigate this matter about Madara though," Tsunade said. "You are all dismissed."

Yugito told Naruto, "I got something to speak to Tsunade about, go home first koibito."

Naruto replied sweetly, "See you later kanojo."

Everyone filed out of the room, with the exception of Yugito. "Tsunade-shisho, can we have a checkup? I've already missed out on two weeks, and recently I've been throwing up a lot. No matter how much medical ninjutsu I use, it's not working. I suspect it's that antidote."

"Alright, follow me to the hospital room."

Back At The Namikaze Compound

"Hehe, now's the perfect time to work on my little project!" Naruto said, withdrawing a black box from his pocket. Removing the item within, he went to his library and pulled out some brushes and ink. He got to work.

At The Hospital Room

By the first thirty minutes, Tsunade had already suspected the root cause. In the next thirty, she confirmed it by running more tests. Sighing, she told Yugito, "What did I say about responsibility?"

Over the next few minutes, she told Yugito the problem, and how to break it to Naruto. She nodded, and went home.

At The Namikaze Compound

"Yes! Finished it!" Naruto practically yelled. "I'm back," Yugito called from the door. Naruto quickly kept the item back in the box, then put it in his pocket.

"Yugito-chan, I've got something for you!" Naruto said, coming down the stairs. In the living room, Yugito had removed her ANBU uniform and switched to normal clothing.

"Yes...?" She asked, "Is this the surprise you talked about yesterday at the party?"

Naruto replied like an advertisement, "Yes, it is all that, and more!" Then his face turned serious.

Kneeling down on one knee, he opened the black box to face her. "Will you marry me?"

Yugito didn't know how to react; the answer was obvious, yet she was so surprised.

"Yes, of course!" she finally answered, as Naruto removed a ring from the box. It was beautifully crafted - a band made of white gold. Where the diamond was supposed to be, was a fox head of ruby and cat head of sapphire. Even the eyes were made of topaz and emerald, matching the eye colour of Matatabi. The whole ring was highlighted with obsidian.

"It's... beautiful," she gasped as it was slipped onto her ring finger. "It has seal formulas so that you can store stuff, you can also shoot fire, and if need be, there's a Hiraishin formula for me to teleport to you."

"Knowing you..." Then she said, "I got something more important to tell you Naruto-kun."

He looked slightly hurt that there was something more important than the engagement, but if Yugito said something was more important, it had to be very important.

"I'm all ears."

"I didn't tell you, but since last week, I have been vomiting. I didn't know why, though I suspected Sasori's antidote. Despite performing medical ninjutsu on myself, it still didn't work, so I had to see Tsunade, which is what I did just now. After an hour of tests, she told me the reason."

"What?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"A lack of responsibility, at least that's what Tsunade said. What happened a month ago?" Yugito prompted.

Reflecting, he said, "I came back to the Leaf, did a prank, reunited with my friends, sparred with Kiba, and had a dinner with them."

Yugito sighed. He could be quite clueless at times, though that was a quality she found cute.

"Specifically between us?"

Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "Aha! We... made love?"

"Exactly. I'm pregnant."

Author's Notes:  
#mindblown! I don't think you guys saw it coming. The suspense, though. It's been two weeks since I last posted, and I've finally gotten my phone back from the Service Centre. Due to the very long delay, I made this chapter very long - my longest in fact - and gave some surprises as promised in the previous chapter. My Mastery Reviews i.e. my class tests are over, but my end-of-year exams are in two weeks' time. Therefore I suggest following this story. If you are reading this, it probably means you're a follower, having to wait for two weeks and checking every day is not an easy task. My Chapter One has one more week before it expires; this means it has been 83 days since I first wrote fan fiction, almost 12 weeks! Ok, enough talk. Happy Teachers' Day and Mid-Autumn Festival!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	31. Chapter 31

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 31: Akatsuki Rises

Author's Notes:  
Did anyone realise the double meaning of "The New Heir" as the previous chapter's title? It refers to the new heir of the Mizukage seat and the new heir of the Namikaze clan... Naruto's son. Trust me, this "son" will play a big part in my upcoming plans.

Previously:  
"Exactly. I'm pregnant."

He jaw dropped, speechless. Then a grin appeared on his face. It grew wider and wider, until he looked like a maniacal clown.

He started jumping around the house, yelling, "I'm gonna be a father!" He began doing chakra-enhanced cartwheels and flips, then jumped to the rooftops.

Yugito thought, "Of all reactions, I didn't think he'd do that. Better stop him before he tells the whole world."

Then Naruto calmed down, realising that if Akatsuki got hold of this information, his whole family would be in danger.

"Didn't think you'd be that happy," Yugito said. "Duh, I'm gonna be a father. But... Akatsuki must not know of this... at all costs."

There was knock on the door. "Naruto-kun, are you in?" came the voice of Jiraiya. The blond male backflipped off his roof and jumped onto the front garden.

When he opened the gates, Jiraiya said, "Congratulations..."

Naruto gasped, "How did you know?"

Withdrawing a notebook from his pocket, the white-haired sage said, "Minato-kun looked the same when he found out he was going to be a father."

Minato shrugged in the mindscape, and said, "Can't deny that."

Yugito dropped nimbly onto the garden floor. "Jiraiya-sama."

Then she ripped the orange notebook out of his hand, and threw it up into the air. Channeling chakra to her ring, the animal heads separated, revealing a fire seal. It opened, causing fire to spit out of the ring, incinerating the pervert's notebook in the process.

"No my precious notebook!" Jiraiya wept, crying anime tears. "Anyway... I'd stop jumping around if I were you, young lady. By the way, nice ring."

"Thank you," Yugito replied.

"Naruto, I came to inform you about the Akatsuki. Recently it has been very active, and has already captured the Ichibi, Yonbi, Gobi (not desert) and the Rokubi. We have reason to believe that Fuu, the Nanabi jinchuuriki, will be next. She is in Takigakure, the Hidden Waterfall Village."

Naruto's expression turned angry at the mention of the organisation. "This Akatsuki..."

Yugito squeezed his hand in an attempt to calm him down. "I have requested for us to travel to Takigakure as a precautionary measure, and Tsunade has agreed. We will be leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow. As for you, Yugito, you shouldn't be going. Now that you are even more vulnerable, you would just increase the chances of the Akatsuki getting hold of Matatabi."

Yugito clicked her tongue in frustration, but knew it couldn't be helped. It was starting to get late in the afternoon, so after Jiraiya left, Naruto headed off to train.

"Yo Anko-san! You there?" Naruto yelled as he approached Training Ground 44. The snake mistress dropped down from the top of a tree and landed in front of the fence.

"What can I do for you, Naruto-kun?" Anko asked seductively. Naruto shook it off and said, "I would like to fight you... inside there."

"Sounds interesting... no holds barred, alright?" Anko said while unlocking the metal gate.

"Right, let's begin," Naruto answered while dashing into the forest. Anko swiftly followed behind, tossing multiple kunai at him.

Using a single kunai, he skilfully deflected the barrage, before flinging it at the snake lady. She was almost hit, if not for her reflexes.

Forming the Snake and Tiger hand seals, she whispered, "Sen'eijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)."

Multiple snakes flew out of her sleeves towards Naruto. He formed the Bird hand seal while his eyes morphed into the fabled Rinnegan, and yelled, "Chikushodo!"

A giant hawk burst into existence, and began catching the snakes one by one before dispersing.

Naruto grabbed a kunai, and started charging it with futon chakra. "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" Anko spat a wave of flames at the jinchuuriki.

Temporarily stopping, he formed a hand seal and shouted, "Suiton: Suijinheki!" Water burst out of his mouth and met the flames head on, resulting in a layer of mist.

He threw the kunai at Anko, whose only warning was a disruption in the mist and a buzzing sound. It clipped her left ear, blood pouring out of the wound.

She licked her lips in enjoyment, before flipping towards him and unleashing a volley of shuriken at the blond. "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto shouted while on the run.

The shuriken flew back to their owner at high speeds, causing the tokubetsu jonin to have to twist and contort her body to avoid said projectiles.

Naruto landed in a clearing, before jumping up as Anko landed as well. He weaved Rat, Ox, Dog, Horse, Monkey, Boar, Tiger. "Katon: Goka Messhitsu (Fire Style: Majestic Demolisher Flame)!" Naruto announced, Rinnegan blazing. The torrent of fire shot out of his mouth in a continuous stream, aiming for the snake mistress.

She narrowly avoided being burnt to a crisp, though many trees were charred in the process as shields. The grass was scorched, evidence of the power of this jutsu.

Naruto finally dropped to the burnt floor, switching from Tiger to Snake. "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!"

Trees sprang out of the floor in rapid succession, and the grass regrew. Anko marvelled in awe of this... power.

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu)!" Naruto shouted. A trunk grew wooden spikes that launched themselves at the snake lady. She cartwheeled around, nearly getting pierced a couple of times.

"This is fun," she yelled, avoiding yet another killer sprig. "Tsk. Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu)," the blond whispered.

The ground beneath him turned into fine particles, allowing him to sink into ground. He sneaked below Anko undetected, before grabbing her leg and pulling her down.

Just as the mistress entered the ground, he jumped out and hardened it, disallowing any form of escape. "Mokuton: Jubaku Eiso!" Naruto yelled, causing thin whip-like branches wrap around Anko's top half.

"What's this?" she hissed. The branches expanded to the size of a normal tree trunk, growing higher and higher before coalescing into a single giant tree.

"Yield," Naruto said. She sighed and conceded defeat. He smiled and released the jutsu. "That was fun," he commented.

When he went home, his fiancee was already sound asleep. He patted her stomach lovingly, saying, "I know you're there, son, please don't make things difficult for your mum."

Kushina burst out in laughter, causing Naruto to cringe at the loud voice in his head. Minato grinned. "Naruto-kun you're like a natural father."

"Haha, hope to see my grandson or granddaughter soon," Kushina spoke. A blush crept into Naruto's face as he removed himself from the bed and walked to the backyard. He started working on his teleportation abilities by scattering multiple Hiraishin kunais over the floor and teleporting back and forth.

Then he began carrying weights and teleporting. Needless to say, it was hard at first, but as his body adjusted to the weights he could teleport at a normal pace. Every time he did, he added more weights.

Eventually, he could teleport while carrying 50 kilograms of weight. By the end of the day, he could teleport like it was second nature when he removed the weights; his first jump was very fast. As he continued jumping from kunai to kunai, he accelerated, making any observers think that he didn't teleport to them in the first place. Training augmented by shadow clones, he actually trained a hundred years of experience.

Naruto finally decided to come back into the house at 9:30, where he spent 30 minutes making a milk pudding for his hime. Wiping sweat off his brow, he placed the pudding into a decorative bowl and carefully placed it in the refrigerator. He then took out a pad of paper and ripped out a sheet.

Naruto took out his tanto, and began channeling chakra to a certain seal. The White Light Chakra Sabre began transforming, reducing in size till it became a pen. He then began writing.

To My Neko-hime,  
Nii Yugito:

By the time you read this, I probably would have left the village for the mission already early in the morning. Enjoy your breakfast, milk pudding made with lots of love. Rest well, my darling.

Your Fiance,  
Uzumaki Naruto

Satisfied, he tacked the note onto the fridge, unaware that Yugito was watching him the whole time, smiling. "Naruto is so sweet," she thought, before body flickering to the bed.

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki stepped into the master bedroom, and lay down next to his lover. Placing a hand protectively over her stomach, he closed his eyelids, thinking, "Tomorrow is gonna be a long day."

The Next Morning

Sunlight streamed into the room and hit the eyes of our hero, who was still in dreamland. A vibrating seal later, and Naruto was wide awake. He had set it for 7:30 in the morning, enough time to prepare materials.

Sealing away Hiraishin kunais, he donned his standard outfit, with his sage cloak. He then sat down in the front garden's special shrine and began amassing chakra and natural energy.

The gallant sage Jiraiya was jumping from roof to roof, escaping from a rampant crowd of females who were trying to kill him for peeking at the hot springs.

He then turned into a secluded district where the Namikaze compound was. Conveniently, there was a high wall which he could easily cross at his height.

Something in his gut told him that he shouldn't jump straight over it, so he sent a clone to test the waters.

The moment the clone jumped, it met face to face with the Uzumaki Thirty-Six Layered Self-Repairing Elemental Barrier. The outermost layer, raiton seals, ran five thousand volts through it. The innermost seals, courtesy of Naruto, had the power of Bansho Tenin, which drew the poor clone through the next thirty-four layers: a mix of Amaterasu flames (straight from Jiraiya's own collection of seals after fighting Itachi; oh the irony), Nami no Kuni's raging waters, six-inch thick earth from Iwa, and tornadoes from Temari's fan that were sealed as gifts. Next came wood cutting sprigs, weapons, animals, you name it, he has it.

By the time the clone entered the compound through the last layer, it was no longer recognisable as a clone; it was a pile of wet ashes, with blood staining it bright red.

Jiraiya gulped. The Uzumaki and their seals... overkill. He now understood why people wanted to destroy Uzu no Kuni. He had no doubt that Minato had played a part in this.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, his eyes still closed as he detected a new presence. He spoke sagely, "Ever heard of knocking?"

Jiraiya sweatdropped, and jumped from the roof to the gates. He politely knocked on the steel frame, and called, "Are you ready to go Naruto-kun?"

"Hai, let's go now," he said, standing up. He pulled a giant scroll that was leaning against one of the pillars of the shrine and carried it on his back.

Konoha Gates

"We'll make our move now," Jiraiya said to the Eternal Guards, flashing papers. "Have a safe trip!" they yelled, though they knew that it was going to be anything but safe.

The pair tore down the road to Taki, a long way from Konoha. It was two days worth of sprinting, so it was decided that they would stop at a hotel for the night. Of course, they trained along the way; they weren't about to take chances with the Akatsuki.

Back In Konoha

Yugito smiled as she took the pudding out from the fridge and set it on the table. She slowly bit into it, savouring every single part of this breakfast. Her beau might not be coming back for another week.

Later That Evening

"This seems like a good place to settle down for the night," Jiraiya said, gesturing to a hotel on their right. They had just arrived at a small town, still quite a distance away from Takigakure.

The master and student pair booked into a room at the penthouse, after which Jiraiya said that he would go out to scout around.

Naruto snorted and muttered, "More like that 'research' of his." Putting down his scroll, he sat on the bed and crossed his legs.

A greenish aura began surrounding him as he began infusing sage chakra. Suddenly he felt a presence at the balcony, causing his guard to go up.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a man in a black cloak. His face was unmistakable though.

"Uchiha Itachi," Naruto spat.

Author's Notes:  
IMPORTANT! Make sure to read the next chapter as soon as it comes out, it plays a very important part in the plotline. Itachi's appearance is very important, I stress again. Thanks for reading, and leave reviews about what you thought of this chapter.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	32. Chapter 32

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 32: The Uchiha Massacre

Previously:  
"Uchiha Itachi," Naruto spat.

"Naruto-kun. Firstly, I'm here as an ally. Can I come in?" the Uchiha prodigy spoke.

"Why should I trust you?" Naruto said.

Itachi sighed. "I know you can kill me right where I'm standing. Especially in my current state."

"Which is?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Dying."

"Oh, please. If not for you, Sasuke won't be the vengeful guy he is today," Naruto said.

"Yes, that is true. But if not for me, Konoha would not be what it is today - a successful city," Itachi replied. Stepping inside, he said, "I think it's time you knew about the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, though he didn't do anything to stop his intrusion. Itachi took it as a sign of interest.

"I am a man of many sins, though I had two that were the worst. Firstly, I loved Konoha too much. Secondly, I loved Sasuke too much. Back then, I was an ANBU Captain, as I think you know. The Uchiha clan were planning a coup to overthrow the Sandaime. As I loved the village more than my own clan, I reported it to the Sandaime. The elders forced the Sandaime into making me kill the Uchihas before this rebellion could occur. As mentioned earlier, I loved Sasuke too much. Looking back, I should've just killed him along with the rest of the clan. I requested the Sandaime for permission to leave my brother out of the massacre, to which he agreed. The rest is history."

Naruto nodded, satisfied with the explanation. "Why did you join the Akatsuki then?"

Itachi looked around, scanning the area. Naruto understood and formed a few hand seals. "Fuinjutsu: Boon Kabe," he whispered. "I've placed a privacy seal, your words are now just between me and you." Itachi looked slightly relieved, before saying, "I am a spy for Jiraiya-sama."

Naruto was thinking somewhere along the lines of "WTF?!"

"Yes, my leaving the village was actually a cover for Jiraiya-sama to spy on the Akatsuki. As I'd imagine you'd ask, why then did I fight Jiraiya-sama the previous time we met? Well, we were in the presence of Kisame and couldn't risk blowing my cover. He had to act like he only knew me as a nukenin that he had to capture. Anything beyond that, and we would be discovered," Itachi explained.

"Ok... so why are you here?" Naruto asked.

"To give you a new power... and a new responsibility," Itachi said, "The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Nani?!" Naruto yelled. Why did every single dying guy with a dojutsu give it to him?

"Hai. My cousin Uchiha Shisui, gave me his Mangekyo Sharingans to stop the coup through Kotoamatsukami. Since I slaughtered the clan, there's only one more use for it - to help you correct my mistake of not killing Sasuke. Here's what I'll do: I'll give you both my eyes, then I'll give you Shisui's eyes which is in this crow of mine. Do you understand, Naruto-kun?"

"Hai." Kurama spoke up, "Naruto-kun, I can help you copy one eye's genetic code to another, you can give the spare eyes to Yugito-chan."

"Great idea!" Naruto thought as Itachi removed his eyes and handed it to him. Naruto did the same and replaced the Rinnegan in the storage jar from many years ago.

He took out both of his original eyes, and attached them in his eye sockets. Next, he took one out and put in one of Itachi's eyes, placing the other Sharingan in the storage jar as well as the original one he just removed.

Kurama did her work and copied Itachi's Sharingan onto the other original eye, so now Naruto had three of Itachi's Sharingans - two he was using, the other one stored for Yugito.

Next, Shisui's eyes. Again, Naruto removed one Sharingan, and replaced it with Shisui's healthy Mangekyo. Shisui's eye morphed into an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Kurama copied it onto the other Sharingan, so now he had both.

Finally, he placed Itachi and Shisui's other eyes into the storage jar and sealed them.

Summary: It was a messy job.

Naruto stepped into the bathroom, and watched as his azure eyes bled red, turning into the cursed Sharingan. The three tomoe began spinning, and warped into a new pinwheel pattern, the prized Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Channelling more chakra, the pattern converged into a single point at the pupil, before spreading back out in rings. The red turned pinkish, then purplish - the divine Rinnegan.

Satisfied, he stepped out of the bathroom. Itachi said, "Here's a clan manual on the Sharingan... promise me you'll treasure it."

"I will," Naruto assured, taking the Uchiha manual from the "nukenin". Suddenly the blond snapped his fingers, an idea surfacing his thoughts.

Clapping his hands, Naruto said, "Jigokudo!" The King of Hell's head burst out from the ground. "Itachi I'll try to heal you."

A tongue grabbed the ex-ANBU Captain and put him into the head. A few minutes later, Itachi was out, with both eyes intact and a healthy body.

"That was creepy to say the least," Itachi said, smiling. The stoic Uchiha, smiling? Naruto would get rich if he even got a photo of this phenomenon!

"Thanks again, ja ne!" Itachi said goodbye, before dispersing in a murder of crows.

The Next Morning

Naruto woke up, stretching his arms. "That was a weird dream. I must have fallen asleep while meditating," he thought. Walking into the bathroom, he picked up his toothbrush and applied some toothpaste. Then he put it in his mouth and began brushing.

That's when he looked into the mirror.

And saw his Rinnegan, looking like a Sharingan. He almost broke the toothbrush. In this new design, the Sharingan was in the innermost ring, with all three tomoe present and the background red. But outside, where the other rings were, the Rinnegan was its normal light purple.

"The hell...? It morphed?!" Naruto shouted, causing some of the toothpaste to be spat out into the sink. After he completed brushing his teeth, he picked up the clan manual found on his nightstand, and began reading.

Three Hours Later

Naruto had finished the entire tome, and re-read it multiple times. He was about to go searching for the perverted sage when Jiraiya stepped into the room and said, "I'm back! Let's book out and carry on going to Taki!"

Naruto nodded, and slid the manual into his pocket. He began sprinting alongside Jiraiya after they left. On the way, he told his sensei about what had transpired last night.

"Interesting... show me," Jiraiya requested. Naruto channelled chakra to his eyes. The blue turned purple, while the innermost ring warped into a crimson red. Three tomoes appeared, spinning rapidly.

"Hmm... first time I've seen it," Jiraiya commented. Weaving five hand seals, Naruto shouted, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Gamakichi burst into existence, yelling, "But lizard stew tastes bad, Ma!", until he realised he had been summoned.

"What do you need, Naruto-kun?" Extracting the storage jar from his seal, he passed it to the toad. "Bring this to Yugito-chan in Konoha, and don't leave until she personally receives it, understand? This is important," Naruto ordered.

Looking into the jar, Gamakichi gasped. There was one normal eye, three Mangekyo Sharingans and two Rinnegans. If this fell into the wrong hands...

Gamakichi nodded, giving a salute. "Yes sir!" Naruto smiled and gave him some candy. "Kurama-chan, please inform Matatabi-chan about what to do with the eyes," Naruto thought.

"Hai." And with that, the pair continued on their journey, training along the way as usual.

Takigakure

They arrived to see a giant waterfall (no shit), with a forest at the top. In the forest, there was a single giant tree, marking the location of the Hidden Village.

Naruto closed his eyes, then opened them wide, revealing his Sharinnegans, as he dubbed it. "This village has a barrier protecting it, scaling the cliff face to the forest is not an option."

The moment Jiraiya heard the word "barrier", he paled visibly, no thanks to his shadow clone's encounter in the previous chapter - which had its memories returned to the original.

Naruto sweeped the area with his super-enhanced dojutsu, and said, "There are cave systems underwater which will lead to the entrance, its our only way in. Follow me."

Naruto dived into the lake, tailed closely by the white-haired sage. After a series of twisting and turning passageways, the pair surfaced at an underground lake in the mountain.

"Halt! State your business in Takigakure!" a guard on duty shouted. "Visit," Jiraiya said, handing over papers and his sannin pass. The guard inspected the papers, then dropped to his knees.

"Good evening Jiraiya-sama and Namikaze-sama!" he spoke fearfully, kowtowing thrice.

"That was a quick change in attitude," Naruto thought, sweatdropping. "Please follow me to see our humble village leader, Shibuki-sama," the guard said, leading them to a set of stairs which were quickly ascended by the trio.

He signalled to another guard to take over his duty at the lake, while knocking on a wooden door.

"Enter," a voice spoke from within the room. The guard opened the door before saying, "Shibuki-sama, these are Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin and Namikaze-sama, the Kiiroi Senko and Shiroi Kiba Senjin."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at the number of titles, while Jiraiya was crying anime tears that his student had surpassed him.

"Welcome! What do you all need in my humble village?" Shibuki asked, smiling. "Nothing much, just a visit and some sightseeing," Jiraiya answered.

"Shibuki-san, we suspect the Akatsuki will target your village's jinchuuriki, Nanabi no Fu, very soon," Naruto said directly, cutting the crap.

Shibuki gasped. "Please tell me you've come to protect her. The villagers hate her a lot, and the shinobi only see her as a weapon."

Naruto clenched his fist in anger. "Just like me, except for the shinobi, huh... Yes, we are here to prevent her capture."

"Thank you!" the kind leader said. "By the way, you are all invited as guests-of-honour to the annual Waterfall Festival. Once again, you have my sincerest thanks."

"No problem, it's my duty to protect a fellow jinchuuriki," Naruto said, turning around to leave the room.

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows at his maturity; Naruto had really grown up. Strolling along a dilapidated road, the pair saw their charge: a mint green-haired kunoichi with orange eyes.

She sent them a hateful glare. "It must be another of those stupid villagers... gonna get insulted again," Fu thought.

"Hi, Fu-san!" Naruto greeted cheerfully. She gasped. Another human apart from Shibuki had actually acknowledged her existence? Then her emotions changed from surprise to doubt to suspicion.

"Do I know you?" Fu asked cautiously. "There's no need to be that suspicious, Seven," Naruto said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Nine."

Suddenly everything clicked in her head. This was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki! "What are you doing here in Taki, Uzumaki-san?"

"Protecting you, of course," Naruto replied. "The Akatsuki has captured One, my friend Gaara the Kazekage, Three, the Yondaime Mizukage whom I just defeated last week, Four, Five and Six, whom I do not know. We have reason to believe you are next, being Seven."

Counting, she asked, "Who's to say they won't capture Two first?"

Naruto said calmly, "I am." He was about to elaborate when a toad burst into existence.

"Naruto-kun, I've handed Yugito-san the jar. She insisted that I waited until she finished cooking, which was why I took so long to get back. She wanted me to give you this," Gamakichi spoke, pulling out a scroll from his back.

Opening it, he slammed his webbed foot onto the storage seal. Shimmering, a lunch box appeared. "It's gyoza," the toad commented as Naruto opened it to reveal ten dumplings with a saucer of vinegar and ginger.

"Alright, thanks for your hard work Gamakichi," Naruto said, handing him some candy, after which he dispersed.

"So..." Fu continued, feeling awkward from the sudden appearance of a toad. Then her expression turned jealous after deciphering what the toad had said.

"I presume this 'Yugito' is your girlfriend?" Fu asked. She had always wanted to be loved by someone.

"No," Naruto replied, raising his ring finger, "We're engaged." Fu's jaw dropped. A jinchuuriki had experienced love, much less engaged?

"Who is she to willingly marry a jinchuuriki?" Fu asked. Naruto spoke, "One herself; she is Two."

Instantly, Fu got what he meant. No wonder Two was not captured yet. "Anyways, the Akatsuki will be coming after you sooner or later, so we're here to protect you for the time being. When we leave for Kumo to see Eight, I'll give you something else for protection."

"What makes you think you can protect me?" Fu asked. "This is Jiraiya of the Sannin. And additionally..."

Naruto handed her a bingo book with his entry. Five minutes later, and Fu's jaw dropped. Yep, the entry was that long.

Fu looked up at Naruto, who channelled chakra to his eyes. They instantly morphed in colours, warping to the pattern of the Sharinnegan (what a mouthful).

"Now, I believe we're clear here. My suspicion is that the Akatsuki will attack during the Waterfall Festival," Naruto said.

"Good thinking," Jiraiya thought.

"Take this," Naruto said, handing over a Hiraishin kunai to Fu. "Whenever you're in trouble, like facing the Akatsuki, throw it onto the floor - I'll teleport to your position."

Fu impaled the kunai into a tree fifty meters away. Naruto disappeared in a yellow flash, before throwing the kunai back at Fu's feet. Then he teleported back.

"Well, that's all. By the way, I noticed your jealousy when you knew I had a girlfriend," Naruto commented, causing Fu to blush. "I have someone in mind for you."

He leaned in and whispered something to Fu which was incoherent to Jiraiya... that was the point. No, the guy wasn't Jiraiya. When Naruto told the name to Jiraiya too, the Sannin snickered.

"I also got a way to change this village's mindset regarding jinchuuriki," Naruto said, much to Fu's surprise.

"They won't know what hit 'em," Naruto grinned.

Akatsuki Hideout

A masked man said, "Hidan and Kakuzu, your next task is to take on the Nanabi who resides in Takigakure."

"Hai, Leader-sama," they echoed. Kakuzu smirked, it was back to his hometown after all.

Author's Notes:  
Well, Naruto receives the Sharingan! I know this wasn't really a "fighting" kind of chapter, more of an "informational" kind of chapter. Stay tuned to find out about the Akatsuki encounter! Also, please leave reviews about what abilities you think Naruto should have with the Sharingan! Lastly, there is a poll on my profile about what colour Naruto's Susano'o should be, please vote as soon as possible.

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	33. Chapter 33

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 33: The Accursed Kekkei Genkai

Previously:  
Kakuzu smirked, it was back to his hometown after all.

"Let's move, Hidan," Kakuzu spoke. "Haha, finally more blood!" his unstable partner yelled, bloodlust evident in his eyes.

"Whatever, quit yakking and let's move it," Kakuzu said gruffly. "Yeah yeah," Hidan answered, moving out of the door.

"Looks like the Waterfall Festival is approaching in one day's time; its a good time to capture the jinchuuriki. If I know the villagers well enough, they hate our target and won't pay her much attention during their merry-making," Kakuzu spat with hatred for his village.

After all, they'd done the same thing to him. They had sent him on a mission to assassinate the Shodaime Hokage. When he returned after failing the mission, they ostracised him. Those villagers... it's not like they could kill the Shodaime.

The Next Day

Shibuki took the travelling duo around Takigakure and its landmarks. In all, it was a beautiful place. "What a nice village... too bad the villagers aren't as nice. Well, I have a plan anyway," Naruto told Shibuki.

"Oh? What's this plan?" Shibuki asked, interested. "A plan to change this village's mindset about jinchuuriki," he said, whispering it to Shibuki.

His eyes widened. "That just might work," he said, "Alright, see you tomorrow at the Waterfall Festival!"

Jiraiya asked, "What do you have in mind, gaki?" Naruto smirked. "It starts with K and ends with I and has twelve letters in between."

The Day Of The Waterfall Festival

In the afternoon, Naruto got up on a stage for the opening ceremony. "Now, I am honoured to invite the guest-of-honour to give a speech," Shibuki said, causing the crowd to go ballastic with applause.

"Alright, here goes. I'm Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, and I came here for a visit. I'm pleased to say that I loved the tour given by your village leader, Shibuki-san. What a nice village you have!" Naruto started, and the crowd went bananas.

"But, I'm disappointed in some aspects of your village... like how you treat your jinchuuriki, Fu. Did you know she stops the Nanabi from rampaging the village, yet this is how you all repay her?" Naruto said.

"She's nothing but a demon!" "Yeah! She's a freaking weapon!" were some responses from the rampant crowd.

"Sigh... if that's how you all see her, then I have no choice," Naruto said, shutting his eyes. When he reopened them, his Sharinnegan was blazing. "Kotoamatsukami!"

A silence ensued as the population of Takigakure was caught by a genjutsu of the highest calibre. "Listen, citizens of Takigakure. You do not hate Fu, your jinchuuriki. In fact, you like her. You adore her, for she is your saviour and protector. Understood?"

Everyone nodded dumbly. Naruto smiled and released the jutsu. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?" he commented.

The Taki villagers began thanking Fu, who smiled at the newfound attention. "Now, the annual Waterfall Festival, officially begins!" Shibuki announced, and the crowd dispersed for their various activities.

"That went well," Jiraiya said, giving him a thumbs up. Naruto smiled. Suddenly, Fu came by and hugged him.

"Thank you so much! I can finally enjoy life!" Fu said, the happiest in her life ever. "No problem. However, it's not over yet. The Akatsuki might still come after you today."

As if to prove him right, a pair of Akatsuki members just killed two of the guards at the lake entrance. "Now, where's that jinchuuriki...?" Kakuzu said, jumping up the stairs.

"I sense two large chakra pools... they're here," Naruto said to his two companions, moving them to the outskirts of Taki for the incoming destructive fight.

"Look what we have here... two jinchuurikis. I guess it's my lucky day!" Hidan said, immediately lunging towards Naruto.

"Hidan-" Kakuzu was about to warn when his impatient partner engaged the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

Raising his scythe, the Jashin follower slammed it into the ground where Naruto was a second ago.

"Damn you're fast, I'll give you that," Hidan complemented when Naruto drew a kunai and reached for his face, earning the masochist a gash on his left cheek.

"Ha, that felt good!" Hidan said, licking the blood. Naruto immediately questioned his sanity - he reminded the blond of Anko.

Hidan swiped his scythe across narrowly missing Naruto. "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!" Naruto yelled, holding the Snake hand seal while staring directly into the eyes of Hidan.

Trunks burst out of the ground, surrounding the area with a dense forest. "A Wood user?" Kakuzu observed. "You can run, but you can't hide!" Hidan yelled out the cliche phrase as Naruto teleported away.

"Found you!" Hidan said triumphantly as he impaled Naruto with his scythe. Suddenly, the image of the blond melted. "Amaterasu!" the real Naruto said from behind, aiming the flame at the Akatsuki.

Hidan ducked the flames rolling towards him, and threw a lance at Naruto. Focusing on it, the air around the lance warped the weapon into another dimension. "Kamui," Naruto whispered.

"That was an expensive lance you little f****r!" Hidan shouted vulgarly. "Then you shouldn't have brought it here dumbass!" Naruto retaliated, "You can have it back!"

From his right eye, the lance was ejected to Hidan at high speeds. The lance impaled him in the heart, which would have killed him if not for Hidan's immortality.

"Oi! Why are you not dead?!" Naruto yelled, exasperated. "I'm immortal, duh?" Hidan answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok... that just made you a whole lot easier to fight," Naruto said, sarcasm dripping from every single word.

"Katon: Zukkoku (Fire Style: Cranium Carver)!" Kakuzu shouted, causing a large beam of fire to launch itself our blond hero. "Futon: Atsugai (Wind Style: Pressure Damage)!" Kakuzu yelled after his first jutsu, causing them to mix and form a powerful technique.

"Shit, it's too fast to avoid or absorb," Naruto grimaced as the incoming onslaught tore through the trees. Ethereal greyish flames surrounded him and manifested into a ribcage. Soon, they formed into a giant skeletal warrior - Susano'o. A shield grew itself around its left arm, facing the threat. "Yata no Kagami (Yata Mirror)!" Naruto shouted.

The fire-storm collided with the Eight-Span Mirror, resulting in a giant explosion which dismembered Hidan. "Hey! Those are my arms you just ripped off," Hidan's head yelled, annoyed.

"That gives me an idea," Naruto thought as he watched the immortal slowly attempt to reform. "He may not be able to die, but as long as he isn't here, what does it matter?"

"Kamui!" Naruto announced, blowing Hidan's head into his dimension. Without his head, he's basically useless in the world. In his dimension, he can't do anything without his body.

"Tsk, I didn't need that fool anyway," Kakuzu growled, doing a few hand seals. "Raiton: Gian (Lightning Style: False Darkness)!" A disgusting creature made out of black threads with a lightning mask burst out of Kakuzu's back, and headed towards Naruto with a beam of lightning charging in its mouth.

Naruto's cloak gained a bright yellow hue as he entered bijuu mode, a sharp contrast to his black Susano'o, which was dissipating. The creature fired the electrical charge at Naruto, who yelled, "Futon: Reppusho!" As the C-rank wind technique clashed with the B-rank lightning technique, the elemental advantage began kicking in. That would have caused the techniques to cancel each other out, but Naruto wouldn't just have left it at that.

Pouring more chakra into the move, the gale palm tore through the lightning beam and hit the lightning mask straight in the face, destroying it.

Kakuzu clicked his tongue irritatedly. "Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu (Secret: Scaled Sneak Jutsu)!" Fu shouted, exhaling a large amount of fine powder into the area. It began shining so brightly that it blinded the nearby people who didn't possess dojutsu.

"Uzumaki-san, now's your chance!" the Nanabi, Chomei, told him through the Tailed Beast Plane. Naruto nodded, and sped off towards Kakuzu's direction.

Kakuzu felt a presence nearing him, and brought his guard up. A moment later, Naruto kicked the Akatsuki in the face, causing him to stumble back. Kakuzu growled and formed a hand seal.

The rest of his black thread animals burst out from his back and attacked Naruto with jutsus. "Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu!" A wood dragon burst out from the ground and wrapped around one of the three creatures, biting off its water mask - effectively destroying it.

However, the other creatures were still firing off jutsus at Naruto, who shouted, "Mokuton: Jukai Heki (Wood Style: World Of Trees Wall)!" Timber sprung out of the floor and wrapped around one another to form a giant net which withstood the B-rank combination jutsus.

Naruto then manifested part of Susano'o, in particular the ribcage and some skeletal arms with chakra flame swords. Jumping towards the organisms with his red swords, he sliced through them effortlessly, yet they seemed to be able to regenerate.

"That's it! Aim for the mask, the only solid part of those beasts," Naruto thought, morphing the flame from his swords into a giant bow.

Using shape transformation, he shaped Amaterasu flames into an arrow. Drawing the ethereal bow back, he released the arrow towards the wind-masked creature at high speeds, shouting, "Enton: Susano'o Kagutsuchi (Blaze Style: Susano'o Flame Control)!"

That arrow caught the organism straight in the mask, setting fire to it and annihilating it, despite its foolish attempts to put out the black flames while it was heading towards it.

The remaining fire mask creature stepped out into the open, after the blinding dust had worn off. "Kuso, the Sharingan," Kakuzu cursed after he could see properly again following Fu's jutsu.

The creature gave a low guttural sound. Naruto smirked, charging towards it while his Susano'o disappeared. Drawing dozens of Hiraishin kunai, he tossed them at the creature who was knocked back by the barrage.

Teleporting to the one in front of the beast, he kicked it further back while summoning a shadow clone. The clone teleported to all the other kunai surrounding the creature and began rapidly slashing at it with the kunais while Naruto charged a Rasengan.

Finally, the clone teleported behind the organism and kicked him towards Naruto before dispelling. Naruto shouted, "Hiraishin: Jiku Shippu Senko Rennodan Zeroshiki (Flying Thunder God: Celestial Air Slice Style Zero)!"

Slamming the bijuu-powered Rasengan into the creature's fire mask, it immediately shattered into smithereens, eliminating all the masks Kakuzu had.

"Now... on to the main guy," Naruto thought, sprinting to the remaining Akatsuki who was engaging Fu and Jiraiya in taijutsu.

"Hey Kakuzu!" Naruto hollered, finally recognising him from the bingo book. Kakuzu turned to look at him, which was a big mistake considering Jiraiya blindsided him with a punch.

Naruto clapped his hands, shouting, "Senpo: Mokuton: Shinsu Senju (Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands!" A titanic wooden statue that easily dwarfed three Kuramas stacked on top of one another rose from the ground. It had a thousand arms and hands behind it, and its main two hands were clasped as if in prayer, while its legs were in a meditative position. Upon its head, was Naruto, and behind him was a wood golem with a wood dragon wrapped around it.

Sitting in the statue's lap was Kurama herself, roaring at Kakuzu. "Oh shit," he thought as Naruto activated Susano'o which encased the whole statue and its occupants in a greyish ethereal armour.

"Chojo Kebutsu (Summit Enlightenment)!" Naruto followed up. The thousand hands headed towards Kakuzu in the form of fists, making his escape futile. Meanwhile, he had already teleported Fu and Jiraiya to his dimension temporarily to escape the calamity.

Thousands of craters formed in the terrain as the fists collided with Kakuzu and the surrounding area. By now, it must have been obvious that Kakuzu was no more.

"We did it!" Naruto told Jiraiya and Fu when he teleported them back out. Surveying the damaged environment, Jiraiya said, "Nope."

"You did it."

He laughed. "... right." By now, the citizens had gathered to see the commotion. Kurama and the Susano'o had dispelled, the only sight left being the gargantuan statue sinking into the floor.

Shibuki smiled. "Looks like you've killed both Akatsuki members." "Not quite, the one that is dead was a nukenin from your village, but the other is immortal, though it looks like he will spend the rest of eternity unable to do anything."

Jiraiya and Fu simultaneously shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the cursing head they met when taking cover in Naruto's dimension.

"Thank Kami," Shibuki spoke, "I don't know what I would have done if Fu was captured."

"... you really like her, don't you?" Naruto whispered rhetorically, smirking. Shibuki choked, saying, "W-What? No!"

Scanning the young village leader briefly with his Sharinnegan, Naruto replied, "Don't lie. I can read your thoughts. Well, go on, then. What are you waiting for?"

"We'll be leaving for Kumo, Shibuki-san," Jiraiya said, causing Naruto to clench his fists.

He had a score to settle with the Raikage about what he did four years ago.

Author's Notes: The poll has been closed, with two people choosing black and two people choosing red (how pathetic). Anyways, I have decided to make the colour black though the flames are grey and his weapons are red. If you want to see how it looks like, search "Black Susanoo" on Google Images. By the way, what did you think was the "score" that Naruto had to settle? Review!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


	34. Chapter 34

The Rise Of A Legend

Chapter 34: The Solution

Previously:  
He had a score to settle with the Raikage about what he did four years ago. Forcing an unwilling participant into a marriage just to gain political leverage was not in the least morale. If he became the Hokage, he would make sure it never happened to his subordinates.

"By the way, take this to the Hokage for me, alright?" Shibuki said, handing over a scroll. It was an alliance. Naruto smiled.

"Of course. We will leave now, seeing you have some 'business' to attend to," Naruto spoke, looking pointedly at his fellow jinchuuriki who blushed.

On The Road To Kumo

They had to cut through Yuki no Kuni (Land Of Snow), Oto no Kuni (Land Of Sound), Yu no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni (Land Of Frost) to get to Kumo which just had to be a peninsula.

"Five days journey at least," Jiraiya said. "Three at our speed," Naruto retorted, using Shinra Tensei to fly and propel him towards Kumo at high speeds.

This forced Jiraiya to catch up with him by using chakra... "Chikushodo!" Naruto shouted, causing a carrier pigeon to appear.

"Take this to Hokage-sama," Naruto ordered. It nodded and grabbed hold of it with its claws, taking off for Hi no Kuni.

Four Days Later

The pair had arrived at Kumogakure, mostly because Naruto pushed Jiraiya to travel within three instead of five days, but Jiraiya slowed them down from three to four.

"Halt! State your names and business in Kumo," the guards recited at the same time, bored as hell.

"I'm Jiraiya of the Sannin and this is my apprentice, Uzumaki Naruto," Jiraiya said calmly, handing over the papers, "We wish to seek an audience with your Kage."

The guards nodded and let them through.

Raikage Mansion

Naruto took a deep breath, and knocked. "Enter," the Raikage spoke. "Raikage-sama, we're here to inform you of the Akatsuki," Naruto said after Jiraiya entered.

"The Akatsuki?" Ay asked.

Jiraiya spoke, "Hai, Ay-sama. The Akatsuki has recently been active and has captured the Ichibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, and Rokubi. Four days ago we were in Taki with the belief that the Nanabi jinchuuriki was next, which was proven right when the Akatsuki members Kakuzu and Hidan came after her while the village was celebrating the Waterfall Festival."

"Then?" the Raikage pressed.

"My apprentice here killed both of them," Jiraiya said. Naruto scoffed. From the way Naruto was the one who got Jiraiya to speed up towards Kumo, you could hardly tell that Naruto was his student. In fact, any outsider who have thought that it was the other way round, considering Jiraiya's panting and Naruto's ease of movement.

"You terminated both?" the Raikage asked incredulously. "Hai, in fact one is immortal but I seperated his head from his body permanently. Allow me," Naruto said, before teleporting in and out of his dimension.

He placed Hidan's cursing head on to the desk. "The Raikage? F*** you!" Hidan yelled, "Where's my body you asshole?!"

Naruto took out some seal paper and proceeded to draw a seal, before slapping it onto his head. Immediately, Hidan was silenced though you could still clearly see his mouth moving.

"That's some... colourful language," Ay said. "Well anyways, we believe that your jinchuuriki, Killer Bee, is next so we're here to give him extra protection," Jiraiya said as Naruto sucked the head back into his dimension.

"What makes you think I can't protect him myself?" the Raikage snapped angrily. "Just like you couldn't protect the Nibi," Naruto retorted, signalling for Jiraiya to leave the room as this was getting personal.

Ay calmed down visibly as he could not deny that. "From what I hear, the Nibi wasn't captured... that's a relief," he said, "Though she went missing four years ago."

Naruto gave a "hmph". "She found a village..."

The Raikage's eyes widened in realisation. "Konoha! Do you know her?" Naruto raised his ring finger, the precious ring glowing under the chandelier lighting up the office.

"We're engaged."

"Good," Ay said, much to Naruto's surprise. "I thought you forced her into a political marriage? Why do you sound so happy?"

"Actually, this was the council's doing. I treated her like a daughter I never had, and respected her decisions. I would never force her into marriage."

"Alas, the Lightning Daimyo's son sent a marriage proposal to Kumo. The council insisted that I marry her off to that boy. Of course, I didn't want to but the elders all wanted her to in order to gain leverage. I was then forced to marry her off, though the day after Yugito ran away. The least I could do was to stop my hunter-nin from going after her, and pray that she found another hidden village," Ay explained.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "So it wasn't you... is every Kage like that? Bent to the council's will?" The Raikage sighed. "Probably."

"This is a military dictatorship. Actions within the village should be controlled solely by you. When I become Hokage, I will pass a law about final decisions only being made by me and any other Hokages, past or present," Naruto suggested.

"When?" Ay asked, referring to Naruto's talk as if he was already the Hokage. "Are you a wannabe Hokage?"

Naruto smirked. "Oh please, I know the council's thoughts when I see them. If they could, they would've kicked Tsunade-baachan and replaced her with me as Kage."  
"Oh? So you think you're Kage material?" the Raikage asked. "I don't think so, I know so. It's in my blood," Naruto said, flashing around the room before returning to his seat.

Ay clenched his fists. "You're the Yellow Flash's son..."

"Yes."

"I will give you my blessing to marry Yugito if you can beat me in a duel," the Raikage said, interested in testing out the abilities of his arch nemesis' son.

"You're on!" Naruto said, eager to test his skills against a Kage. Ay chuckled, this boy had no sense of formality whatsoever.

"You can do it, Naruto-kun!" Minato said from the mindscape. The previous time Minato had clashed with Ay, both were jonin and had ended in a stalemate. However, just before they left, Minato said that the next time they met it was to put the title of Kage on the line. Eventually, both did make it to Kage, though they never met again as both were too caught up in fighting the common enemy of the Kages... paperwork.

Suddenly, a young woman with light grey hair burst into the office. "Raikage-sama! Sorry to interrupt, but they are two men in black cloaks with red clouds that have just entered the village! From what I hear from Jiraiya-sama, those are Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame of the Akatsuki."

"Calm down, Mabui. Naruto, I'll let you handle this," Ay ordered. "Hai, Raikage-sama!" Naruto spoke, flashing away.

Kumo Entrance

A bright yellow flash burst into the area. "Naruto-kun... it is impressive that you have taken down four of our members by yourself," Itachi spoke, removing his straw hat.

Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu. If you counted Orochimaru, five. The previous time they clashed, both Akatsuki members had came out fatally wounded. The future was looking bleak for both Akatsuki...

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, creating a clone. "Kisame-san, I'll take the bunshin, you'll take the original," Itachi said, winking at Naruto which went unnoticed by the shark man.

"That's fine with me, Itachi-san," Kisame replied, lunging towards Naruto with his sword in hand. Swinging down hard in a brutal chop, it created a giant crater where Naruto was standing. The blond dodged and spun his body in a roundhouse kick towards the swordsman's head.

Kisame grabbed his leg, and was about to throw him down to the ground when he flashed away, outside of Kumo. The Raikage would not be happy if his village was destroyed.

Kisame growled, riding on his water wave after him. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" the swordsman yelled, causing water to erupt from the ground.

Naruto smirked, activating his eyes briefly, "Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder)!" His eyes immediately returned to their original state - Naruto wanted to test how strong he was without his dojutsu.

Slamming his hands into the water, currents of raiton chakra passed through the water, shocking Kisame literally.

"You're good, gaki," the swordsman said admittedly, grunting from the high voltage of electricity running through his body. Grabbing Samehada, he plunged it into the water.

It came alive, shooting towards Naruto at insane velocity. He jumped back instinctively, using a futon-charged kunai to fight the sword's assault. It seemed to want his chakra, jumping sentiently at him.

Naruto sweatdropped. If he had told anyone that he fought a sword, they would laugh at him and call for the Institute of Mental Health.

"You want chakra, I'll give it to you," Naruto thought, reaching for his seal. Chakra coated his body, yellowish-orange flames licking his sage cloak and replacing it with his bijuu mode cloak.

The taste of bijuu chakra was apparently too much for the sword, which seemed to overload and freeze, giving Naruto the opportunity to stab it into the floor. "Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Style: Swamp Of The Underworld)!" the blond called, creating a muddy swamp which would slow down any possible motion from the sword.

By that time, Kisame had approached Naruto and engaged him in taijutsu. After a ten minutes of kicking and punching, Kisame realised that no matter what he did, it seemed that Naruto was ten, fifteen steps ahead of him at movement.

It was strangely reminiscent of sparring with Itachi... At that moment, Kisame looked into his eyes, a mistake he would regret.

"Those eyes... like Itachi-san!" Kisame thought as Naruto whispered, "Tsukuyomi." The whole world turned a crimson red for the squaline man, complete with a moon. He began to sink in a bog, which was pulling him down. No problem, he could breathe in water.

However, his smug facade was lost as when his hands touched the liquid, it was much thicker than water and quite... sticky.

Naruto smirked. It was blood. The giant moon began descending towards Kisame, seemingly intent on crushing him. This was an idea he got from Tengai Shinsei (Shattered Heaven), a Deva Path jutsu that had high risk being used in the real world as it would obliterate its user, its victim and any terrain within a mile radius due to its high impact, a result of using meteorites from outer space.

The moon crushed Kisame, instantly causing a monstrous amount of pain to him. The genjutsu repeated in loops, restarting from the sinking to the crushing (much like Izanami). This happened over fifty times, before Naruto felt merciful and released the Tsukuyomi.

Three seconds passed in the real world, and Kisame collapsed to the floor, exhausted and psychologically traumatised. "Now... Ningendo!" Naruto shouted, raising a hand over the blue-skinned man's skull.

The body of Kisame distorted, before a whitish shape was visible - his soul. Naruto spoke, "This is the end of the Tailless Bijuu."

A soul extracted, an Akatsuki dropped to the floor, lifeless. "Leaving the body behind is risky... First, I'll decapitate him... ok, then Amaterasu!" Black flames burst from the ground, incinerating Kisame's headless body as Naruto sealed the head for bounty.

Information flooded his mind as Kisame's soul entered the King Of Hell's head, causing Naruto to flinch. This man wanted truth, but was swindled by Madara's Eye Of The Moon Plan, as he could now see.

He watched as Madara told Kisame about changing the world with a powerful genjutsu - the Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Tsukuyomi). Madara planned to combine the tailed beasts into a statue, which will then transform into the Jubi (Ten Tails) and cast the genjutsu onto the moon. The moon would reflect the Jubi's eye, a Sharinnegan like Naruto's, except with nine tomoe. The moon, being visible everywhere in the Elemental Nations, would act as an eye looking at the world, forever casting this wretched genjutsu where no one had free will. Kisame, living in a world of betrayal and dishonesty, gladly agreed to join Madara to achieve "a world free of lies".

This Madara was... cunning. Naruto growled as he looked out again at Kumo. Dispelling the clone, he told Itachi, "That was a good spar." Itachi nodded in acknowledgment and dispersed into crows.

"Time to meet the Raikage," Naruto thought, disappearing in a yellow flash.

"Enter," the Raikage said, slightly impressed if the speedy way he had disposed of Kisame was any evidence. He had already been informed of Itachi's role as a spy in the Akatsuki by Jiraiya.

"It was a success, Kisame was taken down," Naruto said, unsealing the swordsman's head.

"Good, you may proceed to the bounty office and cash it in. We'll have the duel in three days' time," Ay said. "Meet Killer Bee."

A man with tanned skin stepped into the office. "Yo Nine, I'm Eight! Nice to meet you, fool, ya fool!" Bee rapped (or tried to).

Naruto winced. It was going to be a long week.

In An Akatsuki Hideout

"Leader-sama! The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was there when we went to Kumo for the Hachibi, and killed Kisame-san," Itachi reported through his ring.

Madara growled. "This Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is becoming much more of a problem than I thought. Well... you may rest for now, in a week's time, I will invade Konoha to capture him myself."

With that, the Akatsuki leader's hologram vanished, the real self walking off to plan evil and destruction in his former village.

Author's Notes:  
Well, that's the thirty-fourth chapter! Anyways, my End Of Year Examinations are here, starting tomorrow with my Mother Tongue Oral Examination. I might not be posting until the week after next week, when my examinations are over. The poll has been closed, and now I'm looking for an artist on Deviant Art to depict Naruto in sage mode with full accessories. If you're interested, PM me and I will give you the full list of things to draw on Naruto, e.g. Yugito's beads, engagement ring, sage cloak and scroll etc. Have a nice day!

Until tomorrow,  
Ja Ne


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